This Monday marked the start of the eighth day of formalization in the Sartor case, a session during which Michael Clark's defense, one of the eleven accused, presented for four hours. In the first part of his presentation, lawyer Bernardo Rosenberg attempted to separate Clark from the financial group: the lawyer stated that Clark is not a partner of Sartor, had no powers, phone, or corporate email. He also argued that the origin of the case dates back to 2016 and 2017, a critical period during which 30 billion pesos disappeared. The partners and the core of Sartor actively participated in the allocation of the funds, a "circle of trust" in which his client did not participate. With this, Rosenberg alluded to the losses generated by Sartor's participation in Emprender Capital. He argued that the Public Prosecutor's Office concluded that all Sartor directors "had abusively exercised powers to dispose of the assets of the funds, to obligate them, and to execute acts contrary to the interests of the contributors, with full knowledge of the harm," however, he countered, "criminal participation is not presumed by the position. Dolo is not constructed by organic membership." In this regard, he explained that the powers that allowed signing contracts, committing assets, signing promissory notes, credit extensions, conducting operations, and executing transfers, "were held by class A attorneys-in-fact, not by my client." It was detailed that by 2021, 2022, and 2023, the class A attorneys-in-fact of Sartor Advisory and Investments were Pedro Pablo Larraín, Carlos Larraín, Alfredo Harz, Oscar Ebel, Rodrigo Bustamante, and Miguel León. Meanwhile, lawyer Karen Clark, the accused's sister and also part of his defense, stated that between 2020 and 2021, most of the operations carried out in Sartor were "new, with 62%", while in 2023 and 2024, most operations "are related to extensions, at 60% and 67%, respectively. This is an important point, the operations of 2023 total 90. Who participated in these approvals? Of the 90, we have 88 approvals from Pedro Pablo Larraín, 87 approvals from Alfredo Harz, 52 operations by Oscar Ebel, and 62 operations by Miguel León. We have the same exercise, Your Honor, regarding the 164 operations carried out in 2024." "Michael Clark did not participate in any of these operations," he emphasized. Regarding the situation of FIP Tactical Sport and the takeover of Azul Azul, the Public Prosecutor's Office accuses Clark of fraud, omission of OPA, money laundering, and simulated contract. According to Rosenberg, the OPA Law aims to protect minority shareholders against a potential premium for a majority shareholder through the sale of a package that grants control over a company, but in the case of the purchase of quotas of FIP Tactical Sport in 2024, which left Clark as the largest contributor with 90%, "no shares were traded, only quotas of an FIP, so no control premium was generated, and his liquidity was not affected." "Article 93 of the Single Fund Law itself states that it is prohibited to make a public offer of quotas of private investment funds. This prohibition has a logical consequence: if the law prohibits making an OPA regarding this instrument, it is legally impossible to construct a criminal offense based on the omission of that act. No one can be sanctioned for not executing what the law prohibits," he emphasized. Along with this, he indicated that the Public Prosecutor's Office formalizes Clark for conduct that has not been carried out, which is "fraudulently acquiring shares. We would reach the absurdity that a public offer of quotas (OPC) had been launched, and the Public Prosecutor's Office would also have formalized it." Rosenberg argued that the Public Prosecutor's Office bases part of its accusation on the administrative position of the CMF, "but the interpretation of a regulatory body is not a source of criminal law." Regarding the crime of money laundering, the lawyer pointed out that only Clark is accused, "and not those who are partners or had powers of administration or representation, who supported numerous documents." Rosenberg maintained that the formalization states that the funds used to finance the acquisition of Azul Azul in 2021 originate from acts of unfair administration, which affected the Tactical and Leasing funds, but that "the problem for the Public Prosecutor's Office is that my client does not control any link in that chain." Thus, money laundering "requires that my client acted knowingly of that illicit origin at the time of concealment or dissimulation acts. The intent to launder requires knowing that the underlying crime is being committed, and simultaneously executing concealment acts, which must be co-temporal, and in this dual knowledge, the criminal offense is not satisfied." On this point, he concluded by stating that Clark met four times with the liquidator initially appointed by the CMF, Ricardo Budinich, to "seek a solution to the debts maintained by Sartor's public funds. So much so that these conversations advanced, drafts existed. Unfortunately, due to a last-minute change of liquidator, these could not succeed. My client even offered to the then-liquidator to pay the debt with the funds. And what did the liquidator do? He refused, since the above would have implied a real and certain recovery for the contributors of close to 7 billion pesos." On Tuesday, the defenses of Sergio Yáñez and Rodrigo Bustamante will present their cases, with the prosecution and the plaintiffs beginning their replies on Wednesday. NEWSLETTERPulso PMLMonday to Friday, 12:30 PMThe most relevant in markets, companies, and business: timely information, context, and content to make better decisions. By subscribing, you accept La Tercera's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies.