Allegations of a network of corruption money involves former president Kirchner
Argentine and Uruguayan magistrates and prosecutors are investigating an alleged network of corruption money, and probably money laundering involving former president Nestor Kirchner and close political and business cronies some of which continue in key positions or proximity to current head of state Cristina Fernandez.
The allegations were exposed in several chapters of a television program, ‘Journalism for all’ produced, directed and conducted by a well known Argentine investigative reporter Jorge Lanata.
The Sunday night program which has had record ratings is aired in a channel belonging to the powerful Clarin media group that has been targeted by President Cristina Fernandez for dismembering under a new Media Law. However the Clarin group has managed to contain the attack so far with a raft of delaying injunctions but the Argentine president is pushing through Congress a judiciary reform that could finally speed her goal.
In the several chapters aired, Kirchner is presented as a man obsessed with power and money, but cash, not plastic money or checks, and for that purpose was at the heart of an organization of companies headed by associates and partners that benefited from public works contracts and bidding processes.
This was most evident in the province where he started his career as solicitor and later in politics as mayor of Rio Gallegos and then governor of Santa Cruz. Lazaro Baez, an obscure bank cashier in Rio Gallegos and hand picked by Kirchner as a man of his trust has become the main public works contractor of Santa Cruz and neighbouring provinces after having absorbed the competition which remains with their original names for tender purposes.
Apparently the owners of these companies were somehow forced to sell to Baez who effectively benefits from all public works contracts and another of his companies has been chosen to build two huge dams in Santa Cruz (the largest obviously will be named after Nestor Kirchner). The catch here also is that all the land to be flooded has also been bought up in anticipation by Baez.
Baez has become a very rich man, and according to some testimonies from Kirchner’s former personal secretary, the architect who built several homes for him and a former governor and deputy governor who worked closely with the ex-president, they all insist that the former bank cashier is just a front man or associate.
And here comes the possible money laundering since in effect several witnesses coincide that at the height of Kirchner’s power, literally ‘bags full of money’ on a weekly basis were received at Government House in Buenos Aires and later flown by his personal secretary, Daniel Muñoz to Rio Gallegos allegedly to be deposited in the vaults especially constructed in the family’s mansion.
One of the private jets used for these trips was none other than the same that flew a delegation from Argentina’s energy company Enarsa from Venezuela and were caught with a brief case containing 800.000 dollars supposedly for the first electoral campaign of President Cristina Fernandez.
Kirchner’s private secretary originally a female broadcaster from Rio Gallegos, Mirima Quiroga and a very close aid of him during all the electoral campaigns until he reached the Casa Rosada, gave testimony of the ‘money-bags’.
In Government House Quiroga was head of the Documentation Department with her office just across from Kirchner’s and on more than an occasion she met another of the president’s private secretary who invited her ‘to feel the weight’ of the ‘money-bag’, which in effect were very heavy, although she never looked inside to see what they contained. The money-bag traffic was ‘once or twice’ a week and bills were not counted, “they were calculated on their weight’, according to what the secretary-messenger Muñoz told Quiroga.
By the way while Muñoz has retired and lives in Patagonia as a prosperous businessman and lobbyist, Ms Quiroga said that a few weeks after Kirchner died she was sacked and fired from Government House with no compensation, and all her former ‘friends’ with strict orders from Lady Cristina not to talk to her or help her in anyway.
Lanata in last Sunday’s program got hold of the architect who built the Kirchner’s residence, and the blue prints were allegedly in the core of the construction is the space for the vault or vaults, where the family kept the valuables. However according to the blue prints the space looks more like a vault for a bank.
Of the many names, family connections and business cronies, mentioned in most programs, outstands Federal Planning minister Julio De Vido who started with Kirchner in Rio Gallegos and continues to this day with his wife Cristina Fernandez. His ministry or rather his post has always been linked to public works contracts, which he apparently performs with great efficiency.
From the Federal Planning ministry he manages all the checks for public works to provinces, cities and towns, which he obviously hands out based on the degree of allegiance to the Kirchner cause of the recipient.
There is also a close circle of strong business people such as Baez, that have benefited from the Kirchners be it by receiving support to buy a stake in YPF; giving them the virtual monopoly of casinos and leisure games or helping them to buy newspapers, radios and television stations.
Finally Uruguay’s name is involved because allegedly some of the money was transferred overseas to tax havens such as Belize, Panama and even a Swiss bank that is willing to help but needs the formal request from an Argentine court to deliver information on suspected depositors.
And from neighbouring Uruguay, at least one of these groups confessed to have flown in and out of the country heavy sums of cash, sometimes in the river ferry, and also from alleged companies registered in Uruguay but with phoney addresses.
An operation in particular interests Uruguayan authorities: the sale of a farm in the east of the country which had a market value of 4 million dollars but was paid 14 million dollars. The money also allegedly was brought in by private plane in a suitcase from Buenos Aires by one of the ‘money-messenger’ boys, who likes to make headlines with flashy cars and pretty models.
Apparently the ‘money-messenger’ admitted to having access to all the ‘blue’ dollars needed from one of the many ‘caves’ in the parallel money exchange trade in Buenos Aires and which was forcibly ‘sold’ to one of De Vido’s front men. The non-pleased seller has also come out confirming the illegal money operations, but later retracted.
In other words Lanata has plenty to keep investigating and hopefully the Argentine courts and prosecutors will get their teeth into the matter, although some of them have already received death threats.
But whatever the outcome Lanata’s finishing line and appeal counts: “Please Lady President tell me I’m wrong, tell me I’m completely off target, I beg of you. If wrong I will apologize and even campaign for you”.
So far and despite the several programs increasing in revelations, there has been no official reply but a few coarse statements from Cristina Fernandez ‘trouble-shooters’ who claim it is all a political ploy in an electoral year, sponsored by the Clarin media group.
Suggested Stories
-
Apr 07th 2014
Overwhelming majority of Argentines feel insecurity has become the main problem
-
Apr 03rd 2014
Argentina's YPF sells one billion dollars in 10-year bonds at 8.75% rate
-
Mar 31st 2014
Mercosur expects to exchange tariff-reduction proposals with EU next June
-
Mar 31st 2014
Brazil/Argentina agree on deal to promote bilateral trade by guaranteeing 'dollar liquidity'
34 comments Feed
Note: Comments do not reflect MercoPress’ opinions. They are the personal view of our users. We wish to keep this as open and unregulated as possible. However, rude or foul language, discriminative comments (based on ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or the sort), spamming or any other offensive or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Please report any inadequate posts to the editor. Comments must be in English. Comments should refer to article. Thank you.
Good looking girl Nestor,s secretary,was she his mistress? C.F.K.s behavior suggests so.
KIRCHNER WAS A CROOK!!!!
Well that'a a surprise isn't it - I didn't see that one coming.
AS KFC presumably inherited all his ill-gotten gains perhaps she would like to demonstrate to the world what a wonderful person she is by giving all back!!!!
Well done CLARIN !!!
Once the Judiciary is locked down and media gagged, expect that CFK will make her move, Unfortunately.
CFK could easily damage Lanata and Clarin that she so wants to destroy by simply saying ' ok come into my house. Look for the walk in vault. Lets open up Nestor's mausoleum..' Not only that but she'd win back loads of trust and thus votes in time for the mid terms and could seriously propose ammending the constitution for the re re election.
The fact she wont says it all.
please let me in on:-
en.mercopress.com/2013/05/13/falklands-mps-blast-spanish-mep-for-comments-on-the-islands-sovereignty
So that I can complete my posting please
They will bring back the money & legally launder it in the housing market & YPF before the Swiss banks get the request to open up their records
Also with the amendments to the justice system, the government will be immune from prosecution after 6 months essentially protecting this family of crooks from spending time in the ''carcel'
please let me in on:-
en.mercopress.com/2013/05/13/falklands-mps-blast-spanish-mep-for-comments-on-the-islands-sovereignty
So that I can complete my posting please
The intent is obviously to crush Sra Kirchner before Sra Kirchner crushes Clarin via the judicial amendments.
What a battle of the Titans!
Will the people vote for CFK even if she is shown - unambiguously - to have been at the centre of the giant corruption and the stealing from the mouths of the Argentinian people? ....
..... Of Course they will vote for her!
And even if nobody votes for her, the vote will still show 51% for CFK.
The vote will be immediately validated by Maduro.
No! It will be the famous 54% all over again!
BTW boss eyed Kirchner knew what he was doing having the 'secretary' along with him. Better looking than TMBOA. no wonder she sacked her, GRRR!
Get a look at that 'Secretary'!!!!
Way better looking than that frothing Harpy, TMBOA CFK, don't you think?
from that Peronism specifically denies that such a thing as “the truth” exists. … quote: ...The implied objective of this line of thought is a nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future but the past. If the Leader says of such and such an event, “It never happened”—well, it never happened. If he says that two and two are five—well, two and two are five. This prospect frightens me much more than bombs... unquote
not.
go figure: the Kirchner's are crooks... whodathunkiteh?
gasp, shock, horror.
Now wait for the usual suspects to arrive and tell us “its all a lie unless it can be proven beyond any doubt on the internet right now and it cant therefore they are all innocent OBVIOUSLY!”
oh, hang on - thats what the near total control of the media by CFK is for - sorry, my bad.
It would also be interesting to know if the permanent high tech security and police/security personel presence at the Mausoleum is because of the fact that Nestor was murdered or because there is a bank type vault full of stolen money in it, or perhaps both reasons. Why on earth do you need such a scale of security for a dead body?????????
I agree its a possibility. They presented a united front - but thats business. Behind the scenes who knew what the relationship was really like? Men of power often have mistresses - his secretary? So maybe there was some disharmony.
Greed is a powerful thing.
Interesting post, Simon!
The scandal and intrique of these events have the potential to be outrageous than that of Peron and Evita!!
“It would also be interesting to know if the permanent high tech security and police/security personel presence at the Mausoleum is because of the fact that Nestor was murdered or because there is a bank type vault full of stolen money in it, or perhaps both reasons. Why on earth do you need such a scale of security for a dead body?????????”
It will interesting to see how she gets the money out, when “it's time to leave”!
Beyond i am a kirchnerist activist, i have never denied the denounces of corruption cases that involve c. f. k' s government, because i'm not neather idiot, nor hypocrite, like many of the hypocrite people who often publish their comments here, and who criticise only the corruption cases that involve the kirchnerist administration, but never say absolutly anything about the shameful legal protection that the clarin group could get in order to not to comply with the new broadcast law, sanctioned in 2009.
In some way, it's understandable that a cretin like jorge lanata doesn't say a word about the money laundering denounce, against the clarin group, which is the hands of justice since 2008, because it's obvious that he won't criticise his bosses, anyway it's necesary to say that not only is it pathetic, but also shamefully evident, the fact that he always makes reports in relation to corruption cases that involve c. f. k's government, but he never say anything about the corruption cases that involve the politic partners of the clarin group, like mauricio macri.
On the other hand, judge marijuan, who investigates the lazaro baez's denounce, has also the denounce that involve the clarin group, and in 5 years he didn't do anything. There is another evident corporative defence.
If lazaro baez, c. f. k., or anybody else commited corruption cases, they must be judged and sentenced, but if many of the people who often publish their comments here, or those who protested against c. f. k.'s government, criticising the corruption cases that involve c. f. k's govt., really cared about fighting against corruption, they would criticise also the denounces of corruption cases that involve the other politicians.
The problem of those people and clarin's, is their impotence, because like them or not, they know that its hightly probable that the f.p.v. wins in october, despite some negative aspects of c. f. k's govt.
May 17th, 2013 - 03:02 pm
Axel:
Firstly you must understand that IF the Clarín Group was laundering money, it was their own money, it did NOT belong to the Argentine people!!!!!
Secondly, Mr. Marijuan is a District Atorney and not a Judge, his job is to investigate the alegation that the Clarín Group is guilty of laundering THEIR OWN money, and it is quite possible that he has found no proof, so cannot bring a case against them!!!!!
In the case of Lázaro Baéz, the main crime he is accused of is inflating the costs of public works, money laundering is a second tier crime which merely indicates that he has some reason to launder the money!!!!!
Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the above and maybe you will become a better teacher!!!!!
CFK et all don't do anything to discredit Lanata or Clarin with proof. They just come out with very vague statements like 'He/Clarin lies' and 'he is/they are just trying to destabilise the country'. Lanata and Clarin are presenting evidence which should be investigated. What are CFK et all doing to prove them wrong and thus discredit them?!
SIMON: You can't be more rediculous and ignorant. If clarin commited money laundering, it's prejudiced the state, because it didn't pay it the enough taxes it had to pay, there is not any difference between statal corruption, and corporative one, and you know it perfectly, your problem is that you are so reactionary and hypocrite that you would find any stupid argument in order to avoid critics against clarin.
In the case of marijuan, he has the responsability of investigating the denounce against clarin, but in 5 years he didn't do anything. I recommend you to listen to what hernan arbizu declared, in relation to clarin's money laundering, and you'll realize about the difference between solid arguments, and your usuall ignorant and hypocrite comments.
CAPTAIN: Read what i posted for simon68.
TOBERS: You are not being serious aren't you, lanata's mediocre reports are often refuted with solid arguments by the pro kichnerist programmes. You can agree or not on their editorial line, but accept it or not, they have much more solid prooves than lanata.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!