In a landmark ruling, the Seventh Civil Court of Santiago has ordered the heirs of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte to return $16 million in funds that the former dictator had illegally siphoned from public coffers. This decision comes as the culmination of a civil lawsuit filed by the State Defense Council against Pinochet’s descendants, following the Supreme Court’s conclusion of the historic criminal case known as the «Riggs case,» which investigated the misappropriation of public funds.
The court found that Pinochet had engaged in the «subtraction of public funds,» with his undocumented income amounting to at least $17.8 million, which had been drawn from the secret expense accounts allocated to the Presidency, the Military House, and the Army Command of Chile. While Pinochet himself could not be held criminally responsible due to his death, the civil ruling has now determined that his heirs had unjustly benefited from these ill-gotten gains.
A Lengthy Legal Battle
The civil lawsuit, filed in 2018, is part of a broader effort by the State Defense Council to «repair the exorbitant damages caused by the misappropriation of public funds committed by Pinochet and his collaborators,» as explained by the Council’s president, Raúl Letelier.
The court’s decision has now affirmed the findings of the criminal case, which had fully corroborated Pinochet’s illicit conduct. The ruling states that while it was not possible to hold Pinochet criminally responsible due to his death, «it has been proven that he incurred in conduct that amounted to the subtraction of public funds.»
Holding Pinochet’s Heirs Accountable
The court has determined that the amount of the «unjust enrichment» that can be recovered from Pinochet’s heirs is $16.2 million, representing the portion of the dictator’s ill-gotten wealth that was not subject to confiscation. This sum will now be distributed among the heirs in proportion to their inheritance rights.
While this ruling is still subject to appeal, it represents a significant victory in the ongoing efforts to hold Pinochet’s legacy accountable and to recover the funds that were stolen from the Chilean people during his brutal regime.
