The Chilean government denied on Sunday President Sebastián Piñera's involvement in the sale of a mining company through a tax haven in the British Virgin Islands, back in 2010, during his first presidential term. Meanwhile opposition lawmakers are considering launching an investigation.

Mr Piñera's name is on the Pandora Papers, a report on offshore companies published this Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Another incumbent South American Head of State is mentioned in the leaks: Ecuador's Guillermo Lasso.

According to a statement issued by the Chilean government, the alleged sale of Minera Dominga "was already investigated in depth by the Public Ministry and Courts that recommended in 2017 to terminate the case due to the inexistence of crime, and the lack of participation of President Sebastián Piñera in that operation".

According to the Pandora Papers, Piñera and some family members were the major shareholders of Minera Dominga, a mining project that was going to be located near the Pingüino de Humboldt National Reserve, in the Coquimbo Region, an environmentally-sensitive zone.

According to the papers, back in December 2010, these shares were purchased for US$152 million, and the operation was completed with a deed signed in Chile for US$14 million and another in the British Virgin Islands for US$138 million.