The investigation examining the purchasing mechanisms within the Andis agency is continuing, court sources said, despite the ruling ordering to verify the origin and accuracy of the audio recordings that sparked the case and which are being questioned by the defense.
In the investigative team led by the public prosecutor Franco Picardi They believe the case is already closed and running independently of the records detailing an alleged bribery scheme nested within the agency and attributed to its former owner Diego Spagnuolo.
Also included is the letter of the judgment announced by the Chamber on Thursday and which is currently being examined in court Sebastian Casanello– does not order to suspend the investigation, they emphasize.
The order overturned the judge’s decision Casanello to reject an application for annulment filed by the defense defendants on the grounds that these audio recordings could be the result of illegal eavesdropping.
The chamber did not blow up the case – as requested by the defense of the Kovalivker family, owners of the Suizo Argentina drugstore – but it instructed the judge to clarify “the issues” related to the audio recordings before deciding on the defense’s request.
There are currently no plans for an expert report, which could be one of the methods to comply with the court order. Judge Casanello will decide that.
Meanwhile, the investigators assume that although it has been clarified how the House of Representatives order can be implemented, the investigation can be deepened and the case can continue as normal.
The round of investigations ordered by Judge Casanello three weeks ago actually ended, following the Chamber’s decision, with the appointment of the directors of three of the main drugstores that benefited from the alleged attacks. They all avoided testifying before the judge and prosecutor.
So he started running within 10 working days for the judge to clarify Spagnuolo’s procedural situation, Miguel Angel Calvete And Pablo Atchabahian– described as two key elements of the maneuver – and another dozen people who have been under investigation in recent weeks.
vote
The controversy surrounding the role of the audio recordings in the case was reflected in the board’s split decision.
From the majority decision formed by the judges Martin Irurzun And Roberto Boico It follows that the audio recordings cannot be ignored beyond their ultimate evidentiary value in developing the case.
The judges claimed that although the investigation was based on an individual’s complaint based on journalistic notes, the information contained in those notes “came from the audio recordings”, the legality of which is being questioned by the defense.
“It is true (…) that the case – it was said – was initiated by a complaint from an individual based on journalistic reports. But it is also true that part of the information contained in these articles and reproduced in the complaint comes from elements whose use is questioned.”
Judge Farah, meanwhile, supported Judge Casanello’s criteria, arguing that the “hypothesis” of illegality was not enough to derail a case.
The judge noted in his vote that the records describe a variety of “precise data” that lends “plausibility” to an alleged serious corruption case that the state must investigate. In agreement with the judge and the prosecutor, he also explained that the case was not based solely on the files questioned.