The Chilean Prosecutor’s Office will not proceed with a criminal case against businessman Isidoro Quiroga, the latest decision in a multi-year suit by Australis and its parent company, Chinese conglomerate Joyvio.
The legal battle commenced in 2023 when Joyvio filed a lawsuit against Quiroga, Australis’ former owner, seeking USD 1.22 billion (EUR 1.07 billion) in restitution and damages, accusing him and former Australis executives of fraud and unfair administration during the USD 921 million (EUR 809 million) sale of the firm in 2018. Joyvio alleged that Quiroga and the firm’s board of directors at the time hid, falsified, and adulterated critical information during the sale’s due diligence process, artificially inflating the company’s valuation when it came time to negotiate a sale.
The defendants have consistently rejected the accusations, calling them falsehoods and slander.
On 3 September, the Public Prosecutor's Office decided not to continue the case, “since during the investigation performed there has not been sufficient evidence to justify an accusation against the accused,” according to a brief filed with the Fourth Court of Guarantee of Santiago.
The prosecutor’s decision comes after an exhaustive investigation that lasted more than three years and included more than 80 statements, 70 requests for information, and 26 instructions to the Investigative Police, in addition to dozens of technical and legal reports, the legal team backing Quiroga said.
Quiroga’s legal team said Public Prosecutor Juan Pablo Araya's decision is consistent with the evidence coming from the investigation, which ruled out any deception or fraud in the sale of the salmon farm. They said it also aligns with the factual findings of the tribunal that heard the case, including the Joyvio-appointed judge. The tribunal’s decision was unanimous, finding there was no fraud and that “the buyers were not deceived during the purchase and they had ample information.”
“From day one we maintained that there was no deception or fraud in the sale of the Australis salmon farm. Today, after almost three and a half years of exhaustive investigation, the Public Prosecutor's Office found that the complaints are unfounded,” one of Quiroga's lawyers, Alex van Weezel, said in a statement.
Weezel also said the legal case has failed elsewhere, referring to related legal cases filed but dismissed in the U.S. and England.
Joyvio said it plans to continue with its efforts, pointing out that Chile’s Fourth Court of Guarantee must still rule both on the order by the Public Prosecutor's Office to not persist, as well as on the reopening of an investigation of the criminal case initiated by Joyvio against Quiroga and his inner circle. That ruling is scheduled for 20 October.
“We hope that the investigation will be reopened and all the pending proceedings can be carried out, which are of utmost relevance. The evidence in this case is very convincing and we believe that it should be the court, following a trial, that determines the legal truth after a well-founded and impartial assessment,” Joyvio's representative in Chile and Food Investment SpA Executive Director Huang Yonggun said.
The company also said it welcomes the resumption of the civil arbitration process, whereby both parties have already proposed arbitrators before the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CAM) tribunal. CAM has yet to appoint the president of the tribunal.
In June, a Santiago, Chile-based appeals court annulled a ruling from the CAM arbitration tribunal that ordered Quiroga and members of his family to pay USD 292 million (EUR 256 million) to Joyvio.
The tribunal found that Quiroga had overpriced Australis when selling to Joyvio in 2018 and ordered USD 217 million (EUR 191 million) as a base amount, in addition to some USD 75 million (EUR 65.9 million) for interest accrued since 2019, to be mostly paid by Asesorías e Inversiones Benjamin – Quiroga’s investment firm – as well as two other investment firms related to members of Quiroga’s family.
However, the Santiago appeals court ruled that the Santiago Chamber of Commerce’s decision was outside its scope of action under the terms of the arbitration agreement.
Joyvio then launched a new legal proceeding against Quiroga and filed a request for new arbitration at the same tribunal, CAM, insisting that the appeals court's previous ruling only overturned the arbitration award but did not address the merits of the case or annul CAM's competence in dispute resolution.
In the meantime, Joyvio reported Australis’ operations in the Aysén and Magallanes regions continue unchanged.
“Our people continue to work, the operational management of the company is fully regularized, and our commitment to Chile does not change,” Yonggun said.
The court battles are estimated to have carried legal fees for both parties of around USD 50 million (EUR 44 million) to date.
