Seminar Program "Chile Facing the Advance of Illicit Markets"

Seminar
CHILE FACING THE ADVANCE OF ILLICIT MARKETS
Threats, Challenges, and Lessons Learned

Date: December 6, 2023
Location: Hotel Plaza El Bosque (Ebro 2828, Las Condes)
Organizers: Athenalab – Public Prosecutor’s Office

Description:

This seminar aims to analyze the national context regarding the development of illicit markets, exploring the threats and challenges posed by criminal organizations to the state and private entities.

Crime, by definition, is a business. The objective behind it is to obtain something in return, primarily money. In this context, illicit markets operate, establishing illegal “enterprises” that integrate supply and demand to profit from products obtained through illegal exploitation or outright theft.

Illegal economies have a direct impact on a country’s development and its society. They not only discourage foreign investment and can lead to capital flight, but they also affect the social security of individuals who access informal labor markets without any protection or insurance.

In the case of Chile, there has been a rapid advance of illicit markets for copper, timber, and fish, in addition to established smuggling and the illicit trade of counterfeit goods. All of this has compelled companies and associations to work on designing strategies to protect their businesses, as well as to promote dialogues with authorities to help improve security, which has been undermined by the actions of criminal groups involved in these illegal markets.

In this sense, this seminar seeks to serve as a platform for dialogue between private and public actors, who will present their experiences and lessons learned through various presentations. The goal is to highlight a pressing issue and discuss concrete actions that can be taken to address this threat.   

The seminar will feature two sessions with invited speakers from associations, companies, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as an international guest who will provide a regional overview of the topic.

The first session is dedicated to understanding national illicit markets and the challenges faced by private entities due to the advance of organized crime. The second session aims to explore experiences in the prosecution and investigation of groups profiting from the theft of raw materials.

Seminar:

9:00 – 9:15 /               Opening

Athenalab: John Grifiths, Head of Studies, Athenalab   
Public Prosecutor’s Office: Lorena Parra, Regional Prosecutor, Eastern Zone

9:15 – 9:40 /               Inaugural Session:

Organized Crime and the Exploitation of Illicit Markets
Jeremy Mcdermott, Deputy Director, Insight Crime

9:45 – 10:45 /             Panel 1:

THE IMPACT OF ILLEGAL ECONOMIES ON PRODUCTIVE SECTORS: THREATS AND CHALLENGES

Presentation: The Advance of Criminal Economies in Chile
Pilar Lizana, Researcher, Athenalab

Panelists:

1. Illicit Trade – María Ignacia Rodríguez, CNC
2. Timber Theft: From Usurpation to Business Loss – Andrés Meneses, Corma
3. Salmon Theft: Danger on the Route – Matías Ruiz-Tagle, SalmonChile
4. Copper Theft: Disconnecting Chile – Sergio Corvalán, ChileTelcos

Moderator: Athenalab
Pilar Lizana

10:45 – 11:00 /           Coffee Break

11:05 – 12:05 /           Panel 2:

INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF ORGANIZED CRIME: LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES

Presentation: The Prosecution of Organized Crime: National Reality and Challenges
Tania Gajardo, Deputy Director, Organized Crime Unit, Public Prosecutor’s Office

Panelists:

1. Money Laundering: How to Prevent the Crime? – Marcelo Contreras, Financial Analysis Unit
2. Copper: Scrap Yards and Product Laundering – Prosecutor Marcelo Leiva, Public Prosecutor’s Office
3. Timber: Lessons Learned – Prosecutor Marcela Barahona, Public Prosecutor’s Office
4. SII: Tax Crimes within Organized Crime – Manuel Navarrete Gómez, Internal Revenue Service

Moderator: Public Prosecutor’s Office
Tania Gajardo

12:05 – 12:20 / Closing of the Seminar

Athenalab: Juan Pablo Toro, Executive Director

12:20 – 13:20 / Cocktail