Context : The census of Galactic globular clusters ( GCs ) is still incomplete , and about ten new objects are supposed to await discovery , hidden behind the crowded and reddened regions of the Galactic bulge and disk . Aims : We investigated the nature of three new GC candidates , discovered in the frames collected by the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea ( VVV ) near-infrared survey . They will be called VVV CL002 , VVV CL003 , and VVV CL004 . Methods : We studied the results of point-spread-function near-infrared photometry from VVV data for the three objects and their surrounding fields , the proper motion information available in the literature and , when possible , we derived the cluster parameters by means of calibrated indices measured on the color-magnitude diagrams . Results : The evidence shows that VVV CL002 is a newly discovered , small , moderately metal-rich ( [ \mathrm { Fe / H } ] \approx - 0.4 ) Galactic GC . It is located at a Galactocentric distance of 0.7 \pm 0.9 kpc , and it could be one of the nearest GC to the Galactic center . Its characteristics are more similar to those of low-mass , Palomar-like GCs than to more classical , old , and massive bulge GCs . VVV CL003 is the first star cluster discovered in the Galactic disk on the opposite side of the center with respect to the Sun , at a Galactocentric distance of \sim 5 kpc . Its high metallicity ( [ \mathrm { Fe / H } ] \approx - 0.1 ) and location point to an open cluster , but a GC can not be excluded . VVV CL004 , on the contrary , is most probably only a random clump of field stars , as indicated by both its low statistical significance and by the impossibility to distinguish its stars from the surrounding field population . Conclusions : We claim the detection of i ) a new Galactic GC , deriving an estimate of its basic parameters ; ii ) a stellar aggregate , probably an open cluster , in the disk directly beyond the Galactic center ; and iii ) an overdensity of stars , most probably an asterism .