After being placed under house arrest on April 10, Rodrigo Topelberg Now he will keep his former partners company factoring Factop, the Sauer brothers, in the Captain Yáber Penitentiary Annex. The defendants, under the scrutiny of the Eastern Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office, face charges of fraud, violation of the Securities Market Law, money laundering and tax crimes.
The First Chamber of the Court of Appeals decreed this Friday the precautionary measure of preventive prison against Topelberg, after both the complainants and the Public Ministry filed an appeal against the initial decision of the Fourth Guarantee Court of Santiago, which had decreed nighttime house arrest for the former partner of the questioned financial entity.
The second judicial instance revoked that decision unanimously, considering the seriousness of the crimes charged and the risk of escape or obstruction in the investigation. Consequently, Topelberg must comply with the precautionary measure in the Captain Yáber Penitentiary Annex, the same facility where the brothers Ariel and Daniel Sauer, also linked to the financial scandal, are currently serving.. In the case of the latter, furthermore, preventive detention was confirmed, after his lawyer, Octavio Sufán, appealed against the measure.
“We believe that it is a resolution that fits the merits of the process and that does justice to the investigation and to the background that was revealed in the hearing before the Guarantee Court and that was not accepted at the time, but that was “The Court weighed both those indicated by the Prosecutor’s Office and those indicated by the complainants, and that they were categorical in proving the participation in the manner that we have indicated by Mr. Rodrigo Topelberg in these events,” said the prosecutor from the Local Prosecutor’s Office of Las Condes. , Juan Pablo Araya, at the exit of the Justice Center. The prosecutor added that “the information that the defense had pointed out and that the court took into consideration to mitigate responsibility or consider the presence of mitigating circumstances that did not exist were discredited.”
The group, which also includes Alberto Sauer rose water and the lawyer Darío Cuadra Junes –both with night house arrest and national roots–, was arrested on Monday, April 8 by the Metropolitan Economic Crimes Brigade of the Investigative Police (PDI). The list is completed with the former general manager of STF Capital, Luis Flores Cuevaswho is also under house arrest.
The Public Ministry’s accusation points to a scheme for issuing false invoices that generated significant profits through various investment funds. Furthermore, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, between 2008 and 2023, the Sauer brothers and their father (Alberto), together with Topelberg, carried out banking and financial operations without having the necessary legal authorization.
The Internal Revenue Service accused the Sauers of providing more than 9,970 irregular invoices to more than 100 different companies, totaling $12,988,219,183.
The investigation revealed complex financial operations, including the triangulation of funds between checking accounts and the injection of money into companies. This case acquired new aspects after the release of an audio in November 2023, in which the lawyer Luis Hermosilla spoke with Daniel Sauer and the lawyer María Leonarda Villalobos about possible bribes to officials of the Internal Revenue Service (SII) and the Commission for the Financial Market (CMF). This audio gave rise to the resignation and subsequent formalization of the former general director of the PDI, Sergio Muñoz Yáñez, who is currently serving preventive detention at the headquarters of the PDI Tactical Reaction Brigade, in Cerrillos.