MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ex Chilean Air Force chief arrested on embezzlement charges

Former Air Force Commander-in-Chief General Ramon Vega

A former Chilean Air Force chief was arrested Monday on charges of embezzling nearly 2.9 million US dollars in a 1994 government deal to buy second hand Mirage Elkan fighter jets from Belgium and refurbish them, according to a Santiago court.

The funds embezzled from the deal were received in the form of commissions from a company paid 39 million USD to recondition 25 Mirage attack aircraft purchased by Chile's government from Belgium for 70 million USD, court sources said. The money was then deposited in the bank accounts of former Air Force Commander-in-Chief General Ramon Vega's two daughters, his son and a son-in-law, according to a statement by Santiago's Court of Appeal. "The funds derive directly or could have come from no other source than the price paid by Chile for the purchase of the Mirage aircraft," the court's statement said. "As far as I'm concerned, these commissions do not exist" Vega said in an interview on local television minutes before his arrest. "This (deal) was revised specifically at the time and no irregularities were found." Three other senior military officials were also charged with receiving between 60,000 and 65,000 USD in illegal commissions. The charges include tax evasion, misappropriation of public funds and improper negotiation. The investigation has been going on for four years. According to the Santiago press the case was initiated by a Belgian government complaint about fees paid to brokers and military officials in the sale of the Mirage when Vega was head of the Air Force. The Dutch son-in-law of Belgium's aviation chief negotiated the sale between the two governments. The aircraft were sold for 109 million USD, but Belgium only received 70 million. Both governments launched investigations into what happened to the remaining 39 million. The Air Force, one of Chile's most respected public institutions, would not comment on the issue except to say it would collaborate fully with the justice system. Chile is widely regarded as one Latin America's least corrupt countries.