The oral trial in the Cuadernos de las Bribes case is at a crucial stage, with new confessions and stories strengthening the prosecution’s hypothesis about the existence of a systematic illegal fundraising scheme during the Kirchner governments. Once again, recent statements by repentant former officials and businessmen have put Cristina Kirchner at the center of the accusations.
And now comes one of the key testimonies included by the prosecution: that of Cristina Kirchner’s former private secretary, who was murdered in 2020. Although it could not be reproduced in court, his statements were recorded in the file: he recounted night meetings, the transfer of bags by trusted officials and the then-president’s alleged involvement in knowing the flow of money.
These statements are consistent with other stories describing how senior officials, financiers, and businessmen collected and distributed funds from public works.
The fact is that in the hearings, statements of those accused of cooperation were taken up which described a good mechanism for collecting illegal funds from public works. In these stories, there are references to deliveries of bags of money, meetings in homes linked to the Kirchner family, and currency movements that, according to witnesses, were known to the then president.
One of the most striking passages is the testimony of a former official who confirmed that after the death of Néstor Kirchner, there were tens of millions of dollars stored in the family apartment in Recoleta. Another convict, a former construction industry executive, claimed that he made regular deliveries to the home of a former central minister in the structure investigated, and a portion of the funds were routed through a major financier within the scheme.
Defense strategy and the role of the financier
From the beginning of the trial, Christina Kirchner’s defense has been insisting that the notebooks that led to the case cannot be considered reliable evidence. They claim that the manuscripts were rewritten and that they show modifications that cast doubt on their authenticity.
They add to this questions about the character of the repentant, confirming that many businessmen testified under pressure to obtain procedural benefits, and that the correspondence between their stories responds to a narrative promoted by researchers.
In this context, Christina Kirchner insists that the case is a “political process,” supported by a judiciary that works – as she emphasizes – in harmony with sectors of power opposite to its political sphere.
Among the testimonies that received the most attention was that of a financial man known for his ability to explain the transfer and transfer of large sums of money. In his remarks, he provided details on how the peso will be exchanged for the dollar and how deliveries will be organized in different parts of the country.
He also described the existence of specially adapted spaces for storing large sums of cash, including underground structures in estates in the south associated with the intimate environment of former President Néstor Kirchner.
For the prosecution, this role not only demonstrates the existence of an organized plan, but also directly links the leadership of political power to the flow of money.
What’s at stake?
As the testimonies accumulate, the Public Prosecution confirms that it has indeed been able to form a consistent narrative about the existence of an illegal collection circle that operates systematically. In contrast, the defense will try to prove that the evidence lacks support, and that there are no elements that would allow linking the former president to the structure under investigation.
The upcoming hearings will be crucial: what remains is the presentation of the new penitents, the consolidation of the technical documents, and the final discussion on the authenticity of the ledgers.
At the same time, the trial continues to progress under strong social and political interest, in a context where every word, every confession and every contradiction could tip the scales in one of the most important judicial processes of modern times.