The fifth hearing in the Cuadernos case was held yesterday, and the Prosecutor’s Office once again placed former President Cristina Kirchner at the center of the accusation, who was accused of being the “main recipient” of bribes offered by businessmen to officials in the executive branch.
In the oath read yesterday before Federal Oral Court No. 7, the prosecution asserted that the investigated bribes constitute “criminal acts” guaranteed by businessmen to officials in the Kirchner government and referred to the former head of state as the “main recipient” of these payments.
According to the accusation, this mechanism allowed officials to enrich themselves and ensure the continuity of the collection department during the years when former President Nestor Kirchner and Fernandez de Kirchner were in charge of the executive branch.
During the fifth day of discussion, TOF 7 finished reading the first two motions for trial drawn up by Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli and advanced the third procedural part.
According to the hypothesis of the Prosecutor’s Office, between 2003 and 2015, there was an illegal association operating within the executive branch composed of 19 former officials and 65 former businessmen and drivers, dedicated to an illegal collection system linked to the awarding of public works and contracts.
In this section, the prosecution deepened the accusation against the former president, by emphasizing that the payments recorded by the driver Oscar Centeno and reconstructed in the investigation were part of an “exemplary” bribery circuit, in which both parties, between officials and businessmen, obtained benefits.
In the case of the highest executive, the accusation places Fernández de Kirchner as the central recipient of this process.
During the session, accusations of passive and active bribery, accepting and giving gifts were reviewed, along with defenses and an evaluation of the evidence and legal qualifications of each accused.
Among the accused is former Federal Planning Minister Julio de Vido. former Undersecretary of Coordination Roberto Barata, officials from the Ministry of Planning and businessmen associated with companies such as Electroingeniería, Isolux and Isolux Corsán.
Medium room
By the end of the day, I began reading the third part of the case, which covers the alleged payments related to the Public Works award and the new accusations against former officials and businessmen in the construction sector. The court ordered a fourth recess until December 2 at 1:30 p.m., when the reading of the third motion will be completed: Centeno’s pleadings, defenses, evidence evaluation, and legal qualification.
In December, hearings related to the “La Camarita” case, which investigates alleged cartelization of road works by the Argentine Chamber of Road Companies, will also continue; On December 18, the requirements for “trains” and “road corridors” will come into play.