Title IV: Penalties

Section 58. Violations of any of the provisions contained in Sections 40, 42 and 49 of this Act shall be penalized by the Board with a revenue fine of up to twice the total amount of the transaction.

In any event, in the case of a violation of a provision of subparagraphs 1 and 2 of Section 42 of this Act, the fine shall not be less than fifty per cent of the total amount of such a transaction.

Violation of decisions or resolutions adopted by the Bank regarding foreign exchange operations other than those dealt with under the preceding paragraphs, may be penalized by the Board with a revenue fine not to exceed one hundred per cent of the total amount of such transaction. In the event that the amount of such transaction were impossible to determine, the fine shall not be in excess of 3,000 monthly tax units.

Section 59. Any person making a willful misrepresentation in the documentary evidence presented to the Bank or in the foreign exchange operations regulated by this Act, shall be punished by the criminal courts of law with a penalty of from 541 days to 5 years of imprisonment (1).

Section 60. Should the Bank verify the existence of a fact likely to be penalized with a fine, it shall first provide the right of a hearing to the party concerned for which purpose it shall address such party by certified letter to the domicile it may have registered with the Bank. If such a domicile is not so registered with the Bank and the party concerned had become connected with the Bank through a banking entity or other person authorized to operate in the Formal Exchange Market, such letter shall be addressed to such entity or person, which procedure shall be deemed to comply with the obligation established in this paragraph.

The party concerned, within a period of 15 banking business days, counted from the date of mailing, shall be entitled to submit to the Bank in writing the particulars which, in his opinion exempt him from liability, or that extinguish or extenuate such liability. Once said period has expired, whether or not the party concerned has submitted the relevant writ, the Bank shall forthwith adopt its decision or resolution as appropriate.

Section 61. Without prejudice to the penalties established in the preceding Sections, banking entities or persons authorized to make transactions in the Formal Exchange Market who violate the provisions issued by the Bank regarding foreign exchangeoperations, may be penalized directly by the Bank by way of withholding the right to engage in such operations for a period of up to sixty days, or by way of revoking the authorization to perform such transactions in case the infringer is not a banking entity. In such event, the entity or person affected by the measure adopted, shall be entitled to appeal to the Court of Appeals of Santiago in the manner and conditions set forth in Title V of this Act.

In the writ of appeal, the interested party may request the suspension of the effects of the resolution, without prejudice to the final decision.

Section 62. The fines referred to in Section 58 of this Act shall be set in the same currency in which the penalized transaction was executed or was intended to be executed, in dollars currency of the United States of America, or as the case may be, in monthly tax units. Whenever appropriate, such fine shall be payable in Chilean currency at the exchange rate published by the Bank pursuant to the provisions of the second paragraph of Section 44, for the day preceding that in which the fine is paid.

Fines applied byBoard resolutions shall be collectable forthwith, and in the ensuing lawsuit no pleadings will be admitted other than full payment, being barred by the statute of limitations, or inapplicability to the infringer named. With regard to this last plea, the existence of the obligation may not be discussed and, in order for it to be admitted, it must be based upon documentary evidence and have a plausible ground. If such requirements are not met, the court shall reject the plea outright.

Section 63. The Bank may collect, either in or out of court, the fines imposed pursuant to its authority, and enter into agreements for the payment thereof, establishing the interest, terms, and other conditions as it may deem fit.

Fines unpaid within the period set by the Bank, which period may not be less than thirty days counting from the date of servicing notice, shall earn interest at the current rate applicable to transactions in foreign currency or, as appropriate, at the current rate of interest applicable to indexed transactions in Chilean currency, in accordance with the rates prevailing during the period of delay.

Section 64. Whoever manufactures or sets in circulation objects whose shape resembles banknotes of legal tender in a manner that such forged banknotes are easily accepted in place of the real ones, shall be penalized with 541 days to 5 years of imprisonment.

Section 65. The Bank shall notify the corresponding supervisory authorities in writing of the penalties imposed upon the entities under their control in accordance, with the provisions of this Title.

  1. Section amended, as it appears in the text by Section 16 of Law 19,806, published in the Official Gazette on May 31, 2002.