Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Ex Army Commander Faces Trial for Money Laundering

Retired Gen. Juan Miguel Fuente-Alba goes to court May 30 to face charges that he laundered state funds to cover personal expenses. The sums involved total about 700 million pesos, or about $1 million U.S. dollars. Prosecutors believe Fuente-Alba used Army funds while he was the top commander to pay for relatives' travel and for other personal expenses. He is also accused of making payments to certain Army personnel who were close to him. The case is one of many corruption scandals that have shaken Chilean government and business in the past several years. The Army saw many of its Pinochet-era officers convicted of human rights violations, and there wasn't much controversy among the top brass until the corruption cases started emerging. Fuente-Alba is one of three former Army commanders facing charges. Gen. Humberto Oviedo, who led the Army in 2014-2018, also is being investigated for using funds to pay for family travel. Gen. Juan Emilio Cheyre was convicted in a case that echoed back to the human rights era. As a recent graduate of the military academy at the time, Cheyre accompanied officers who took part in the killing of 10 persons following the 1973 coup. Sentenced to three years of probation for covering up the crimes, Cheyre was soon indicted for a series of abuses. He denies those charges.
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