Judge: No evidence to indict Cristina Kirchner in 'K Money Trail' case

[sandensea]

Former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner received her first legal victory since leaving office three years ago after Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello determined there was no evidence to indict her in the so-called ‘K Money Trail’ allegations of a corruption scheme aimed at laundering embezzled public funds.

The ruling comes eight months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Belize's International Business Companies Registry formally notified Argentine courts that the accounts alleged in the ‘K Money Trail’ case do not exist.

While Casanello's ruling clears Mrs. Kirchner pending appeals, another 25 co-defendants remain under investigation in the case. The judge noted in his ruling on Friday that if new, compelling evidence is presented, she could still be indicted.

The two plaintiffs in the case, the Financial Information Unit (tasked with investigating money laundering) and the Anti-Corruption Office, have said they will appeal the decision.

Both are federal offices controlled by Kirchner's successor and chief rival, current President Mauricio Macri.

Trailing

Amid the most severe recession in 16 years and entering his 2019 reelection campaign with 30% approval, Macri trails Kirchner in most polls by around 10 points.

Kirchner still faces four other charges, all presided - despite laws mandating that federal cases be randomly assigned - by Federal Judge Claudio Bonadío, a key Macri ally known as a “napkin” (pocket) judge for his willingness to pursue politically motivated cases against opponents.

Two of them, “Hotesur” and “Los Sauces,” investigated whether public contractor Lázaro Báez laundered kickbacks to the former president through the booking of hotel rooms (“Hotesur”) and real estate rentals (“Los Sauces”) - both of which belong to her.

Despite mirroring these cases, the ‘K Money Trail’ case was accepted as a separate indictment based on media reports of foreign accounts which have since been debunked by U.S., Swiss, Belizean, and other authorities.

The allegations, first published by the right-wing news daily Clarín in March 2015, were instrumental in Macri's narrow runoff victory that year.

Bonadío had remanded the case to Casanello in 2017 after having come to the same finding: that the rentals presented no irregularities and that evidence of impropriety is lacking.

The same, critics note, cannot be said for Macri, who has been materially linked to 50 undeclared offshore accounts since the 2016 Panama Papers scandal, and whose family retains a large stake in electric utilities - chief beneficiaries of rate hikes of up to 1400% decreed by Macri himself.

At: https://www.thebubble.com/cristina-kirchner-no-evidence-k-money-trail/

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: From the ‘K Money Trail’ to the campaign trail?

Macri, whose debt bubble implosion has led to the most serious crisis since the 2001 collapse, currently trails Kirchner by around 10% in hypothetical matchups.

Both remain non-commital to running in next year's race, however.

[Judi Lynn]

1. It's great seeing a publication calling out Clarin for its poisonous disinformation

during the campaign regarding Cristina Fernández.

Anyone who hasn't acknowledged the identical patterns of the wars on their Presidential opponents by Argentina and Brazil is being deceitful, and anti-democratic, and has no place whatsoever posing as a progressive. Anyone who has never noticed the "vast right-wing conspiracy" going on so very long throughout the Western Hemisphere, the "New World", has no relationship to democratic people.

It's so good to see it's still possible in both countries for people to publish articles telling the truth who haven't been snatched off the street, or from their homes, and disappeared, so far.

Thoroughly appreciated this entire article, every word.

Thank you for the post, sandensea.