According to the head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office Angel Valencia, some files have been opened to search whether such organizations committed tax fraud, embezzlement or influence peddling. Yet it´s still too early to speak of any unlawful acts.

The investigations began after finding out that the regional secretariat of the Housing Ministry in Antofagasta gave some $ 530,000 to the “Democracia Viva” corporation, linked to the ruling Democratic Revolution party, to supposedly aid the shantytowns.

The amount of funds investigated is still evolving, Valencia said, although there is an estimate of around 15 billion Chilean pesos (US$18.7 million).

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