Andrónico Luksic and the senior staff of his holding company, including the former Minister of the Interior Rodrigo Hinzpeter, traveled this Saturday morning on an express trip to meet in Asunción for more than three hours with the businessman and former president of Paraguay, Horacio Cartés, who He is a partner of the Chilean tycoon in businesses related to the distribution of fuels and the production of beverages and beers. He is a controversial figure, designated as a “significantly corrupt” person in the US and with investigations in Panama, Brazil and Paraguay.
Chilean businessman Andrónico Luksic, together with Quiñenco’s staff, traveled to Asunción on Saturday to meet with Horacia Cartés, former president of Paraguay and partner of the tycoon in that country.
As revealed Cyprus, in conjunction with the media of that country ABC Color, it was a lightning trip to Asunción. They left Santiago at 11:45, arrived in the Paraguayan capital directly to meet at the Cartés mansion, talked for 3 hours and left the premises at 3:30 p.m. to take off back to Chilean soil at 4:30 p.m.
The meeting, headed by Luksic, would have been attended by the senior staff of the Quiñenco business group: the legal manager and former Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Hinzpeter; the general manager and former president of the AFP Association, Jose Francisco Perez Mackenna; the general manager of CCU, Patrick Jottar Nasrallah; and the general manager of Enex, Nicholas Correa Ferrer.
According to the publication, the meeting was held due to the concern of the Chileans regarding the accusation of the United States, which 3 weeks ago officially accused Cartés as a “significantly corrupt” person, which meant the freezing of accounts, his visa and that of close relatives.
joint ventures
At the meeting, the Chilean businessman would have requested explanations for this complex situation, in addition to a review of the accounting records and contracts of the joint ventures, which include the Sociedad Bebidas del Paraguay, the Distribuidora del Paraguay and Enex Paraguay.
Through these companies they have licenses to distribute in Paraguay brands such as Heineken, Schneider, Amstel, Sol, Paulaner and Kunstmann, among others. And in the fuel market, they do it through the “Upa!” stores.
For Quiñenco’s interests, it would be a complex issue, beyond the accusations of corruption, since the investment they maintain in Paraguay is considered relevant for the holding company.
research history
However, the questions do not only come from the United States. His name is being monitored in the case of the Venezuelan-Iranian plane that has been detained for months in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Likewise, it is being investigated for corruption and money laundering since long before in other countries. In 2019, an investigation was opened in Brazil for the Lava Jato case and he also faces investigations in Paraguay and Panama as a result of the revelations of the Pandora Papers of 2021.
