Argentina’s court ordered former President Cristina Kirchner and eight other defendants convicted of corruption reimburse public coffers by about $ 3 billion.
The amount was fixed by a Federal Court based on expertise that evaluated the “damage caused to the public purse”.
The judgment obliges the convicts to make the deposit in a judicial account until August 13, under penalty of blocking assets and values.
The decision represents a new unfolding in the road construction contracts during the government of Cristina Kirchner (2007–2015), whose conviction was confirmed last month by the Argentine Supreme Court.
Cristina Kirchner was sentenced to six years in prison and the definitive loss of political rights, which prevents her from holding public office. Being over 70 years old, he has been in home in a home sentence since June.
According to records from the anti -corruption office, she declared a patrimony of 250 million pesos (about $ 1.1 million) in 2023 – much less than the amount required by the court.
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In addition to the former president, they were also convicted:
- Lázaro Báez, a businessman close to the Kirchner family and appointed as the main beneficiary of fraudulent contracts;
- José López, former Secretary of Public Works;
- Five former employees and leaders involved in the concession scheme.
The penalties range from 3 and a half to 6 years in prison.
Santa Cruz case
The process involves works in the province of Santa Cruz, a political stronghold of the Kirchner, and points to fraud in the concession of 51 public contracts.
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Most of these contracts were won by companies from Lazarus Báez, a central figure in the web of relationships between private interests and the government.
According to the judges Jorge Gorini and Rodrigo Gimenez Uncuru, the payment order has “solidarity character” and does not specify how much each defendant must pay.
The measure aims to return to the public coffers part of the damage caused by practices that, according to the court, configured the systematic use of the state apparatus for private purposes.
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Without the possibility of reversal in the Argentine judicial system, allies of the former president indicate that she should seek support from international courts, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Cristina denies the accusations and claims to be the victim of political persecution.
