Piñera Cash Payments: Chile Lawyer Hermosilla Says Aides Delivered Money Every Quarter
COURTS · CHILE
Key Facts
- —The country Chile. The Audios case, triggered in November 2023 by a leaked recording of lawyer Luis Hermosilla, is the country’s widest influence-peddling probe in years (Infobae, 20 September 2026).
- —What happened In testimony given on 27 August and reported by Teletrece on 28 September 2026, Hermosilla said the late president Sebastián Piñera ordered cash paid to him from late 2020 to mid-2022.
- —Who is involved Hermosilla; lawyer Samuel Donoso; former presidential aides Benjamín Salas and Andrés Sotomayor, who he says handed over the cash; former interior minister Andrés Chadwick, who he says told them of it.
- —What it means for you This is one defendant’s account, not a court finding. It lands two weeks before the Audios trial preparation hearing, set for 13 October (Infobae).
- —Still open Where the money came from: Hermosilla says he does not know. Piñera died in February 2024; Teletrece could not reach Salas or Sotomayor before publication.
Piñera cash payments are now part of one of Chile’s biggest corruption investigations in years. Lawyer Luis Hermosilla told prosecutors the late president ordered cash paid to him, Teletrece reported on Monday 28 September.
Hermosilla says he and fellow lawyer Samuel Donoso each received about 100 UF a month, an inflation-indexed unit. Teletrece put that at CLP 2.9 to 3.2 million then (about US$3,000 to US$3,300 at today’s 962 pesos per dollar).
What Hermosilla Told Prosecutors
Hermosilla gave the statement on 27 August at the regional prosecutor’s office in Valparaíso, La Tercera reported. It was his fifth appearance before prosecutor Claudia Perivancich, who investigates judicial appointments, according to Teletrece.
He said Piñera wanted detailed updates on criminal cases against top officials linked to the October 2019 unrest and the pandemic. “Given the President’s personality, he wanted to know all this in great detail,” he said, according to La Tercera.
The cash came every quarter, he said, never by transfer or deposit. He named Benjamín Salas, then a Piñera adviser, and later Andrés Sotomayor as the aides who handed it over.
Hermosilla said he never discussed the money with Piñera himself. He said Salas or Andrés Chadwick, Piñera’s cousin and former interior minister, told them of it. He contrasted this with separate advisory work for the Interior Ministry, which he said he invoiced and was paid for by bank transfer, La Tercera reported.
What the Messages Show
Teletrece published WhatsApp messages from Hermosilla’s seized phone that it said match his account. In one, Salas wrote that he had the lawyers’ “quarterly bonuses”, according to Teletrece.
In another, dated 4 July 2022, Sotomayor offered to bring “the July–September payment” to Hermosilla’s office. Piñera had left office that March; Hermosilla says the payments ran until mid-2022.
Chats between Hermosilla and Sotomayor about fees were first published by The Clinic in April 2025, Teletrece noted. Until this testimony, Teletrece said, the purpose, size and source of the instruction for those payments were not known.
Who Disputes the Account
People close to Donoso told Teletrece the payments match his fees “with some nuances”. They said Donoso declared and paid all taxes on the fees Piñera paid him. Neither Teletrece nor La Tercera reported a response from Chadwick.
La Tercera, which obtained the full testimony, said it contradicts earlier accounts from the lawyers. The paper reported six years ago that their work for the government was unpaid.
The Piñera cash payments claim therefore rests on one defendant’s memory and a set of chats. Hermosilla himself said he could not recall the exact monthly figure.
Why It Matters for Chile’s Courts
Hermosilla is the central defendant in the Audios case, which also exposed his contacts in the judiciary. Prosecutors accuse him of tax offences, money laundering, bribery and influence peddling, and seek 17 years and a day, Infobae reported.
The State Defence Council (CDE), the state’s lawyer, has also filed a bribery complaint naming Donoso over efforts to influence judicial appointments, BioBioChile reported. In the same testimony, Hermosilla described talks with lawyer Gabriel Zaliasnik on court candidates, La Tercera reported.
The process is doing what it should: prosecutors are testing each claim against seized messages. A defendant’s statement carries weight only if corroborated, and no court has ruled on the Piñera cash payments.
What Is Not Yet Known
Hermosilla told prosecutors he does not know where the money came from. Whether it was Piñera’s personal funds or another source has not been established by any party.
Piñera died in a helicopter crash in February 2024 and cannot answer the claims. Teletrece said it could not reach Salas or Sotomayor before publication.
Prosecutors have not said whether the payments broke any law or whether anyone new faces charges. The total paid is also unclear, since the monthly figure came from memory.
Sources: Teletrece; La Tercera; BioBioChile; CNN Chile; El Mostrador; Infobae; BioBioChile (CDE complaint). Exchange rate: open.er-api.com, 29 September 2026.
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