Pinochet's widow under investigation on suspicion of swindling millions

Prosecutors accuse Lucia Hiriart of siphoning funds from sales
of government properties through the NGO she ran to pay off
Pinochet’s living expenses

Jonathan Franklin in Chile
Friday 19 August 2016 11.00 BST

Lucia Hiriart, the widow of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, is under investigation for allegedly swindling the Chilean treasury of millions of dollars by selling properties designated as community centers.

A report by Chilean prosecutors also accuses Hiriart, 93, of siphoning funds from the NGO she ran, CEMA Chile, to pay General Pinochet’s living expenses in the United Kingdom while he was under house arrest following his arrest in 1998.

Chile’s minister of public property, Víctor Osorio, told the Guardian that prosecutors are preparing to file formal charges over allegations that CEMA Chile misappropriated millions of dollars in government funds.

During her 43 years at the head of the organisation, Hiriart oversaw the sale of dozens of government properties which had been donated to the foundation. Chilean officials say that profits from the sales were transferred abroad or simply disappeared.

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