The former minister Giorgio Jackson; the chief advisor of La Moneda, Miguel Crispiand the Budget Director, Javiera Martínezall militants of the Democratic Revolution (RD), They testified before the Prosecutor’s Office for the Living Democracy case last February, and his answers to the interrogation have just become known.
The Prosecutor’s Office investigates millionaire transfers by the former Seremi of Housing and Urban Development of Antofagasta Carlos Contreras to the Democracia Viva foundation, which was led by Daniel Andrade. Both Jackson, Crispi and Martínez testified before the regional prosecutor of Antofagasta, Juan Castro Bekiosand personnel from the Investigative Police (PDI), as published Third.
The first to do so was Jackson, who indicated that «During the performance of my duties as minister, I never received information regarding the existence of transfers of fiscal funds from the Precarious Settlements Program of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in favor of foundations.«, and declared that he only found out about the alleged irregularities that occurred with the Seremi de Vivienda de Antofagasta and the Democracia Viva foundation when the media Timeline published the news.
«(There) I found out about the transfers of funds made to the Living Democracy Foundation,» he said. Although he did admit that days before the publication in a meeting with his advisory team it was said that there was a rumor about some problems with transfers and that «it involved members of my party, but without any details.»
In fact, Jackson assured the Prosecutor’s Office that «I did not know the existence of the Living Democracy Foundation until those days of the month of June, no less than Daniel Andrade was part of it. I knew that since June 16.»
The former deputy also said that he met Andrade as a student leader in 2017, and then when he joined the Democratic Revolution as a militant, while he «knew that Contreras was part of the party and that he worked with deputy Catalina Pérez.»
CRISPI: I INFORMED THE PRESIDENT ON JUNE 16
Then it was the turn of Miguel Crispi, who was asked if he gave any instructions on the issue of transfers to foundations, and responded that «I do not know, in the exercise of the positions that I have held, if there has been any instruction, memo or official letter since the Subdere or from the Ministry of Social Development and Family on the omission of information on the transfer of funds to non-profit foundations by State institutions».
Regarding when he found out about what was happening in the north, he explained that «about Living Democracy, on June 7 I had a telephone conversation with the former undersecretary Tatiana Rojas; I ask him if he has any information regarding the link that a foundation directed by Daniel Andrade would have with the Housing Seremi of the Antofagasta Region, whose seremi at that time was Carlos Contreras, to which he answers that Yes, you have had information about it, that antecedents are being raised«.
«I was not aware of the specific roles that the members of this foundation fulfilled, the details of transfers, the level of execution or not of certain services or other particular aspects of this situation. In summary, I never had any type of antecedent in sight that led me to form the conviction that I was facing some type of crime.«, he added.
Likewise, he revealed that one of his collaborators warned him about this situation, so he called former Undersecretary Rojas, and revealed that «I informed President Boric personally about this issue on June 16.. «What was reported corresponds to what I knew regarding this matter.»
Besides, Crispi said he was unaware until that day of the role his aunt Verónica Serrano had. in Minvu, who was head of Precarious Settlements during 2022. And, on the other hand, she stated that «I am not a friend of Daniel Andrade, nor of Carlos Contreras, I only know them given their militancy.»
Finally, it was the turn of Javiera Martínezwho stressed that he had not had a relationship for «more than three years with Daniel Andradepreviously He was my partner for a while, between 2019 and 2020.. From then on I have not maintained any type of contact.»
Meanwhile, regarding the transfers in favor of Living Democracy, he stated: «I found out after the news was published. in the month of June 2023, when it was a public fact in the media, I didn’t know about this before«.