POLITICS NEWS
CHILE’S PRESIDENT SIGNED BILL PENALIZING
CORRUPTION AND INFLUENCE TRAFFICKING
By CLEMENCE REROLE
THE MORNING OF JUNE 17TH, PRESIDENT MICHELLE BACHELET SIGNED TWO BILLS DESIGNED TO
REGULATE CORRUPTION OFFENSES AND PENALIZE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
SANTIAGO — In the context of the Agenda de Probidad y
Transparencia that the government set up in response to recent
corruption scandals, Bachelet signed two of the initiatives this
morning, thus completing 13 out of the 22 legal measures from the
agenda.
The ceremony was held at La Moneda, in the Salón Montt Varas.
Around a hundred people were present, including Ministers from
the political committee, according to Emol. Presidents of the Nueva
Mayoría and Alianza, two political parties, were absent however.
This represented a historical moment for Chile, as the country’s
legislation penalizes for the first time corruption between individuals,
clearly stating that influence trafficking is a punishable offense,
reported Emol.
T13 reported that sentences for influence trafficking will be brought
up, both in terms of “deprivation of liberty and financial penalties”
announced Bachelet. The measure also introduces a higher penalty
for bribery, including for illegal payments to foreign public officials.
Moreover, in the case of a corruption offense, any people involved in
the illegal payment will be sanctioned from now on: the director, the
manager, the administrator, any involved executives and third parties.
According to T13, among the measures that will be put into place to
regulate conflicts of interest are:
- Pre-requisites to enter a public organization: will be forbidden to
enter a public organization any person who has rights in a company
with which the organization has contracts exceeding 200 UTM.
“We have begun the fight on corruption that we know will not be
easy, it will take time, because the proposed changes are profound”
declared the President during the ceremony, according to T13.
- Restrictions to lobbyists: Any person who lobbied for a particular
organization under the last 12 months will not be allowed to work in a
public organization.
Influence trafficking does not only concern the public sphere but
also particular individuals who use and abuse their power or wealth,
especially in business transactions.
- Barriers to go from regulator to regulated and vice-versa: For
example, ex-managers or directors of fiscal companies will not have
the right to work in a fiscal regulatory organization.
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