Chile: Court denies access to data in tissue paper cartel case

The San Miguel Court of Appeals in Chile has once again turned down a request by the South Metropolitan Prosecutor’s office to grant it access to the National Economic Prosecutors’ (FNE) classified files on the wide-ranging tissue paper cartel case. The lead prosecutor, Cristian Galdames, has said that the decision blocks his office’s investigation, started in 2005, on a series of alleged violations to competition law by companies CMPC Tissue and SCA Chile (formerly Pisa).

PPD deputies Daniel Farcas and Gabriel Silber accused the companies of artificially raising prices a few months ago. The investigation now requires action by competition authorities FNE and the Tribunal for the Defene of Free Competition (TDLC) to corroborate the infractions.

Silber urged the various State organisms to cooperate with each other and announced an upcoming meeting with the South Metropolitan prosecutor, Raul Guzman, with who’m they’ll analyse the next steps forward. They also, he said, would consider whether they would pursue their complaints before the country’s Supreme Court.

Full content: Radio U Chile

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