Santiago--Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's son resigned as head of a government charity office Friday after he was accused of using his influence to get a bank loan for his wife.
Sebastian Davalos had come under fire from opposition politicians who accused him of influence peddling for attending a meeting between his wife and a Banco de Chile executive that ended with the bank granting her application for a $10 million loan.
"I understand the uneasiness that this situation has created and I am responsible for the resulting harm that has damaged the president of the republic and the government of Chile," Davalos said in a resignation announcement from the presidential palace.
He denied any wrongdoing but apologized for what he called "this bitter moment."
Davalos managed seven charitable foundations run out of the president's office, a post that in the past was held by the Chilean first lady. He received no payment for his work.
Bachelet, Chile's first woman president, is a single mother of three children. She returned to the presidency for a second term in March.
The national bank regulator cleared Davalos of any wrongdoing in the November 2013 loan meeting, but the issue ballooned into a scandal for Bachelet's government.
His wife's company used the money to buy plots of land in central Chile that were then rezoned for building construction. The company resold them this week at a hefty profit.
The company, Caval, had previously applied unsuccessfully for the same loan at other banks.
AFP
