CHILE · COMPANIES
Key Facts
- The company ENAP, Chile’s state-owned oil company and only crude oil refiner, has no listed shares.
- What happened Prosecutors are examining seven ENAP contracts with Albagli Zaliasnik, the law firm co-founded by Chile’s ambassador to Israel, Gabriel Zaliasnik.
- The numbers ENAP’s records show more than US$1 million from 2019 to 2025; Zaliasnik’s defence cites CLP 962.4 million (about US$977,000) before tax.
- When The payment figures were published on Tuesday 13 October 2026; the case has been before a court since 24 July.
- What comes next Zaliasnik has not been formally charged and, his lawyer says, not summoned; a Socialist deputy says he will request the full contracts.
- Political reaction Opposition lawmakers want President José Antonio Kast to remove the ambassador; no government comment on the payments has been reported.
- Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
Chile’s state oil company ENAP told prosecutors it paid more than US$1 million to the law firm of Gabriel Zaliasnik, now ambassador to Israel, from 2019 to 2025. Investigators are examining whether any of that money was linked to the 2020 legal defence of a former national police chief, a link Zaliasnik’s lawyer denies.
The case has been before a court since 24 July as possible fraud against the state, and the investigative outlet Reportea published the payment figures on 13 October. Opposition lawmakers have since renewed calls for President José Antonio Kast, a conservative who took office in March, to withdraw his envoy.
What Was Paid
In a June reply to prosecutors seen by Reportea, ENAP listed seven contracts with the firm, most of them for internal investigations. The main one, awarded in June 2020, covered an arbitration brought by Duro Felguera, the Spanish group that built a power plant at ENAP’s Aconcagua refinery.
ENAP said it compared three bids and that Albagli Zaliasnik made the best financial offer. In 2025 the tribunal found Duro Felguera in breach and set about US$19.9 million in delay damages, partly offset by some US$13.8 million owed to the Spanish group.
Zaliasnik’s defence values that contract at about US$435,000, including a US$250,000 success fee. It puts ENAP’s total payments at CLP 962.4 million (about US$977,000 at 985 pesos per dollar) before value-added tax, or about US$1.16 million with Chile’s 19% tax.
Who Is Involved
Zaliasnik is a criminal law professor, a founding partner of Albagli Zaliasnik and a former head of Chile’s Jewish community. Kast named him ambassador on 4 June 2026, days before his private chats with a prominent lawyer, Luis Hermosilla, were published.
Hermosilla is at the centre of Chile’s “audio case”, an influence-peddling scandal that began with a recording leaked in 2023. Their chats from 2020 show the two men discussing Loreto Silva, then chair of ENAP’s board, while Zaliasnik’s fees for defending police chief Mario Rozas were being arranged.
Rozas, who led the Carabineros national police until November 2020, was charged in 2024 over his command during the 2019 protests. Nos Importan, a private non-profit, paid Zaliasnik’s invoice of CLP 57 million (about US$58,000), its founder has confirmed, and prosecutors are tracing where that money came from.
Why It Matters
The case is registered as possible fraud against the state, an offence involving public funds. Nothing has been proven, and no one has been formally charged in this strand of the inquiry.
Zaliasnik is also a formal suspect, a status short of charges, in a separate inquiry into judicial appointments, Valparaíso regional prosecutor Claudia Perivancich confirmed on 6 October. Neither case has led to formal charges, the threshold the previous government used for asking officials to step aside.
What the Government and ENAP Say
Chilean media had reported no comment on the ENAP payments from Kast’s office or the foreign ministry by 15 October, and ENAP had issued no public statement. On 6 October, Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna said ambassadors are “always being evaluated”.
Zaliasnik’s lawyer, Jorge Gálvez, calls the ENAP hiring professional and fully documented, and says his client has not been summoned. He says Silva had no role in the contract, which ENAP accepted on 22 June 2020 and signed on 8 July, after she left the board on 26 June.
Daniel Manouchehri, a Socialist deputy and complainant in the Hermosilla case, urged Kast to face up to the matter and seek the ambassador’s resignation. Earlier in October, after the prosecutor’s confirmation, the left-wing Broad Front called for his exit and the career diplomats’ association said his staying was unacceptable.
What It Means for US Readers
ENAP has no listed shares but borrows abroad, and in July 2024 it sold a US$600 million 10-year bond in New York at an interest rate of 5.95%. The sums under investigation are small next to its record 2025 profit of US$848 million, so for bondholders the issue is governance rather than finances.
What Is Not Known
The value and specific purpose of the other six contracts are not public, and prosecutors have not said whether they will seek charges. Silva has not responded to questions, and it is unclear whether Kast will act before prosecutors decide.
More: Chile news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Related: Chile’s Hermosilla case widens to two property registrars · Hermosilla’s testimony on Piñera-era cash payments · Who is José Antonio Kast?
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did ENAP pay Zaliasnik’s law firm?
ENAP’s records show more than US$1 million from 2019 to 2025 under seven contracts. The main one covered an arbitration with Spain’s Duro Felguera that led to a 2025 award in ENAP’s favour.
Who is Gabriel Zaliasnik?
He is a criminal law professor, a founding partner of Albagli Zaliasnik and a former head of Chile’s Jewish community. President José Antonio Kast named him ambassador to Israel in June 2026.
Has Zaliasnik been charged or resigned?
No, and as of 15 October he remained ambassador. He is a formal suspect in an inquiry into judicial appointments, and prosecutors are examining the ENAP contracts.
What is ENAP?
ENAP, or Empresa Nacional del Petróleo, is Chile’s state-owned oil company and the country’s only crude oil refiner. It has no listed shares, borrows through bonds and reported a record 2025 profit of US$848 million.
Sources: Reportea: Fiscalía investiga contratos de ENAP con el estudio de Zaliasnik, 13 October 2026; BioBioChile: Pagos de ENAP a estudio de Zaliasnik, 13 October 2026; Radio Universidad de Chile, 13 October 2026; T13: la arista ENAP del caso Audio, 5 October 2026; T13: Foreign Minister Pérez Mackenna on Zaliasnik, 6 October 2026; La Tercera, 6 October 2026; BioBioChile: career diplomats on Zaliasnik, 6 October 2026; Chilevisión: Kast names Zaliasnik ambassador, 4 June 2026; CIAR Global: ENAP v Duro Felguera award, 19 February 2025; BioBioChile: ENAP US$600 million bond, 24 July 2024; Emol: ENAP 2025 results, 28 January 2026; Feller Rate: ENAP rating report, 22 May 2025; ENAP newsroom; exchange rate from EODHD, 14 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief