Illicit acquisition of wealth among chilean criminal law public officials

Abstract

This article deals with illicit acquisition of wealth among public officials –a crime that has recently been introduced into the Chilean criminal code (art. 241 bis criminal code). after an exposition of the compared context in which the new figure is inserted, this article critically discusses both the circumstances of the legislative process which brought it about and the insoluble questions of legitimacy it causes in relation to presumption of innocence, principle of legality, and the establishment of a criminal law of act. finally, this article addresses an interpretation of the possible scope of the figure and assesses its criminal-political potentiality.