The owner of Sur Finances, Ariel Vallejowas presented to the Federal Court of Lomas de Zamora on December 2nd. They had been looking for him since the day before in order to kidnap his cell phone. He picked it up along with that of his mother, who acts as the company’s president, and gave the keys to both phones. The phones have already been opened.
Judicial sources informed Clarion that the federal police accessed the phones and extracted their contents. “Now we have to analyze what is there, if there is anything at all.”said one of the investigators working on the case skeptically.
The analysis is part of a broader work commissioned by the federal judge of Lomas de Zamora Luis Armella. The judge ordered that the Federal Police, the Directorate of Legal Assistance in Complex Crimes and Organized Crime of the Judiciary of the country (DAJUDECO), the Office of the Attorney General for Economic Crime and Money Laundering (PROCELAC) of the Office of the Attorney General of the country and the Federal Prosecutor in the case Cecilia IncardonaAnalyze everything that was seized in the raids carried out in this case.
The case investigates alleged money laundering by Sur Finanzas, a company that has been closely linked to football in recent years. He was a sponsor and financed various organizations. All because of his close relationship with the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia.
On December 1, all branches of Sur Finanzas, as well as the Banfield club and offices linked to a trust, were searched. Prosecutor Incardona had asked that Vallejo’s cell phone be confiscated. The businessman was not found that day. He appeared in court the next morning. He left his cell phone and his mother’s cell phone behind along with their respective passwords and turned them on.
The judiciary froze all of the company’s accounts and lifted the tax, banking and stock exchange secrecy of those involved. Then the two headquarters of the AFA, the Super League and 18 football clubs that had a relationship with Sur Finanzas were searched, including Independiente, Racing, San Lorenzo, Barracas Central – of “Chiqui” Tapia -, Platense, Argentinos Juniors, Temperley and others from various professional categories.
The lawsuit also concerns other cell phones, which were also ordered to be opened. They are the ones who were kidnapped when the treasurer of Sur Fianzas was arrested last week. Micaela Sancheztogether with two drivers and valuables – Sergio Da Silveira and Juan Cervín – in a warehouse in the city of Turdera, where there were company documents and they took out computers.
The Justice Department charged them with the crime of concealment and they are being imprisoned for obstruction of the judicial process. “The only answer I have to everything that happened is this: I was determined not to lose my job and thus continue to run the company,” Sánchez said in a written presentation when she was questioned again.
“I never wanted to hide or destroy evidence” takes place in another section. The woman and the drivers were offered remorse. Judge Armella is expected to decide next week whether they should be prosecuted and whether they should remain in custody or be given house arrest as requested.
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