Both Consorcio, Falabella and Banco de Chile, dismissed the accusations of the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office alluding to the simultaneous participation of Büchi as a simultaneous executive of the three companies.
Last Thursday, The National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) formalized its first request for violation of the prohibition of horizontal interlocking, consisting of the simultaneous participation of the same director or senior executive in two or more competing companies, against Hernán Büchi, Banco de Chile, Consorcio and Falabella before the Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC).
Through this procedure, the entity assured that Büchi has been a director and / or relevant executive of both Banco de Chile, Consorcio Financiero and Falabella, companies that compete for the offer of banking and insurance products and services, in addition to the offer of services of securities intermediation, case of Consorcio and Banco de Chile.
At the same time, in the indictment, the FNE asks the Court to fine Büchi for a total of $ 357 million for tax benefits, while for the Bank of Chile it asks for a $ 2,899 million. And for the Financial Consortium, one of $ 2,678 million. For his part, Falabella seeks an economic sanction of $ 2,632 million.
Financial entities defend themselves
However, and according to information published CNN, Banco de Chile, Falabella and Consorcio questioned the accusation through statements in which they dismissed the complaint.
Specifically, the banking house ruled out “absolutely the circumstance that the illicit assumption that the FNE imputes to it had been configured”. Later, he added that “it is surprising that the FNE formulates, in imprecise terms, the identification of the required entities, realizing that they would supposedly be companies that compete with each other, which is not in any way effective.”
Regarding Büchi, its executive director, they precisely insisted that “he is not a director, nor a relevant executive of competing companies of Banco de Chile. And it certainly is not, in any case, from another bank. “
And next, announced that they will exercise “Before the Court for the Defense of Free Competition, in the appropriate legal opportunity, all the actions and defenses that correspond, assisting us with the total conviction that there has not been the alleged infringement that is imputed to us “.
In the case of Falabella, he assured that “Hernán Büchi is a director of the parent company Falabella SA and is not a director of Falabella Inversiones Financieras SA or of its subsidiary Banco Falabella Chile, entities that have their own board of directors and their own corporate governance, which operate in accordance with the law and banking regulations ”.
“Directory does not receive commercially sensitive or strategic information”
Additionally, they said that “to guarantee compliance with the interlocking law, Falabella SA maintains controls according to which its board of directors does not receive commercially sensitive or strategic information from any of its affiliates or subsidiaries, including Banco Falabella”.
Finally and in the same vein as the other entities, Consorcio Financiero rejected “Categorically the arguments and conclusions presented by the FNE in this case”, stating that “a quick reading is enough to verify that the requirement is contrary to the law.”
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