Union corruption: more convicted for embezzlement in Sunca

On December 15, four more individuals (three men and one woman) were criminally convicted.

These individuals acted as "financial mules," receiving the irregular money transfers and subsequently sending them to the main suspect, Bruno Bertolio.

The convictions, obtained through an abbreviated process, were for crimes of embezzlement and aiding money laundering. With these, the total number of convicted individuals in the case rises to eight, adding the previous convictions of the three main former leaders and a Fund official.

Case details

The corruption case in Sunca centers on the multimillion-dollar diversion of funds from the Social Housing Fund for Construction Workers (Fosvoc) and has resulted in multiple criminal convictions, with the investigation still ongoing.

The corrupt scheme consisted of carrying out at least 193 irregular transfers, totaling 1,200,000 dollars, from Fosvoc's account to third parties (known as "financial mules").

These third parties withdrew the money and a portion was delivered to the main suspects.

The scheme was discovered at the end of 2024, when an official covering for the department head, Stella Rey, found the suspicious transfers.

Union members criminally convicted

To date (December 2025), eight individuals have been convicted in connection with this case, all through abbreviated processes:

Three former Sunca union members belonging to the Communist Party (Bruno Bertolio, Santiago Bernaola, and Víctor Rivero), convicted in June 2025 of embezzlement, fraud, criminal association, and aiding money laundering.

A Fosvoc official (Stella Rey) was also criminally convicted last November, who was responsible for carrying out the transfers.

Rey is also a member of the Communist Party and was Óscar Andrade's right-hand person when he led Sunca.

Four "financial mules" (a couple and two Sunca members) were also convicted on December 15 of embezzlement and aiding money laundering.

The investigation continues

The Prosecutor's Office, led by prosecutor Gilberto Rodríguez, continues the criminal investigation, since the statements of those convicted have mentioned other union members and politicians, including Senator Óscar Andrade and Representative Daniel Diverio.

The Prosecutor's Office doesn't rule out new summons or charges as the investigation progresses.