News of corruption

CHUBUT DEBT CRISIS

No end in sight to Chubut’s debt crisis as workers pay price

12-10-2019 11:23 Driven by crushing provincial debt and economic mismanagement, public workers in Chubut are on strike as they face the second so-called “staggered pay” situation in two years.

by Lucas Robinson

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

Brazilian football is on the road to self-destruction

11-10-2019 08:00 A conspiracy of blunders and malfeasance by professional football’s elite handlers has squandered talent and left Brazil's cherished national institution in shambles.

by Mac Margolis

COMODORO PY

Bonadio orders Cristóbal López and Fabián De Sousa be released from jail

08-10-2019 13:59 Incarcerated Grupo Indalo businessmen to be set free, most likely later today, after posting bail of 60 million pesos.

SUPREME COURT

Ex-Colombia president Álvaro Uribe questioned on witness tampering

08-10-2019 13:32 Colombia's powerful former president appears before Supreme Court for questioning in a case involving alleged witness tampering.

FIFA CORRUPTION SCANDAL

FIFA bans Uruguayan former vice-president for life for taking bribes

02-10-2019 13:42 FIFA says its ethics committee found Eugenio Figueredo guilty of taking bribes in 2004 and 2015 linked to commercial deals for South American competitions.

Political turmoil

Peru President Vizcarra dissolves Congress, calls fresh elections

01-10-2019 09:18 Peru lurches into new period of political uncertainty after Martín Vizcarra dissolves opposition-controlled congress and calls new elections in anti-corruption row.

CORRUPTION CHARGES

Bonadio closes 'Cuadernos' probe, sends Fernández de Kirchner for trial

20-09-2019 18:10 Corruption charges come under framework of 'Cuadernos' case, one of Argentina's most high-profile graft probes to date, which Bonadio closed yesterday and sent to trial.

LAVA JATO

Bachelet denies claims her campaign took cash from disgraced Brazilian firm

18-09-2019 17:04 Bachelet told Chile's 24 Horas TV channel late Monday from Geneva that she "never had any link with OAS or any other company," in reference to allegations.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Carrió calls for elderly dictatorship-era criminals to be freed from jail

17-09-2019 16:29 Outspoken national lawmaker says those 'dying in prison' convicted of crimes against humanity should be freed from jail, adding that ex-planning minister Julio De Vido should also be freed.

MONEY-LAUNDERING CHARGES

Florencia Kirchner told to present new medical report before courts

12-09-2019 13:57 After six months in Cuba – and with new reports emerging that claim her health is not improving – former president's daughter told to present updated clinical history before federal court.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Boudou acquitted and convicted in unified trial over car purchases

29-08-2019 17:15 Former vice-president handed three-year suspended sentence for supplying false data for purchase of car, but is cleared of irregularities in the buying of 19 high-end vehicles dating back to when he led Economy Ministry.

FORMER PRESIDENT

Court refuses to suspend Fernández de Kirchner's corruption trial

26-08-2019 17:51 Court rules that former president's trial for alleged corruption offences related to public works projects will continue, rejecting requests from the defence to suspend the trial.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Court quashes Sarmiento rail underpass graft trial over lack of evidence

23-08-2019 15:00 Ex-Kirchnerite officials De Vido and Jaime off hook for now as Odebrecht graft probe stalls. Number of businessmen, such as Ángelo Calcaterra, also acquitted. Second ruling, however, opens door for new investigation into Correo Argentino debts.

500 DAYS

Fernández, CFK join petition from Argentine leaders for Lula's release

21-08-2019 08:35 Presidential frontrunner Alberto Fernández and running-mate Cristina Fernández de Kirchner led calls by dozens of personalities Tuesday to free Brazil's jailed leftist icon Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

JORGE NEWBERY

Mexico says businessman Carlos Ahumada arrested in Argentina

19-08-2019 07:59 Mexican federal prosecutors said Friday that authorities in Argentina acting on Mexico's request had detained Mexican-Argentine businessman Carlos Ahumada, who was tied to political scandals a decade ago and is sought on tax evasion charges.

Obra Pública

Fernández de Kirchner requests to travel to Cuba for fourth time

06-08-2019 15:31 Former president asks to be excused from part of her corruption trial hearings regarding alleged fraud in public works projects.

Evasion

Court to open investigation into Báez Jr. over missing US$1.5m

26-07-2019 09:30 Leandro Báez, the youngest son of disgraced businessman Lázaro Báez, is accused of not declaring the multi-million dollar sale of 250,000 kilos of sheep wool.

Investigation

Laura Alonso's Anti-Corruption Office secures sharp budget boost

22-07-2019 23:30 Anti-Corruption Office's budget boosted by 50% from last year, with funds going towards salaries and trips to promote image of 'trustworthy' Argentina.

by Nicole Martin

NOTEBOOKS CASE

Fernández de Kirchner's defence team requests 'notebooks' case be sent to trial

22-07-2019 14:12 Letter from defence lawyer Carlos Beraldi directly criticises federal judge Claudio Bonadio's handling of high-profile graft case.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Federal court upholds near-six-year sentence against ex-VP Boudou

18-07-2019 09:23 Defence team for convicted former vice-president, who served under Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, set to take appeal all the way to Supreme Court.

'El Retorno'

CFK faces new corruption charge over hotel purchase

08-07-2019 10:04 El Retorno is located near Lago Gutiérrez, 12 kilometres from the centre of Bariloche. Margarita Stolbizer's complaint against the former president will allege she and her associates used dirty money to purchase the property in 2013.

Photo op

PT party senator Gleisi Hoffman confirms Alberto Fernández to visit Lula in jail

03-07-2019 15:47 Alberto Fernández will visit Luiz Inácio 'Lula' da Silva in Curitiba as pressure mounts against the imprisonment of the former Brazilian president for corruption.

Former president

CFK skips campaigning, corruption trial to return to Cuba

01-07-2019 10:54 Cuban doctors diagnosed Florencia Kirchner her with post-traumatic stress disorder and five other conditions, including lymphedema. It is her mother's third trip to the island this year.

Lava Jato

Brazil Supreme Court rejects request to free former president Lula

26-06-2019 15:32 The court voted to postpone deciding on whether then-judge and current Brazilian Minister of Justice Sergio Moro was impartial when handling da Silva’s first conviction in 2017.

Corruption in Latin America

New Odebrecht leaks reveal US$15.7m of bribes tied to Argentina

26-06-2019 11:27 Fresh leaks reveal scope of Brazilian construction company's ties to Argentina.

by Emilia Delfino

CFK

Corruption case against Cristina Kirchner enters into second phase as campaigning gets underway

24-06-2019 18:39 It is anticipated that the hearing will conclude with the reading of the final 200 pages of charges against the former president and the rest of the accused.

Lava Jato

Moro says 'nothing to hide' about leaked messages

21-06-2019 19:27 The Brazilian Justice Minister and former judge claimed there was nothing improper about alleged conversations he had with prosecutors and dismissed the "sensationalism" created by the Intercept report.

Qatar 2022

Former France football great arrested in 2022 World Cup probe

18-06-2019 14:58 Former UEFA president Michel Platini, who was banned by FIFA in 2015 for financial misconduct, denied wrongdoing during police questioning. Qatar's methods to bring the World Cup to the Middle East have been subject to investigations by FIFA.

INSTITUTIONAL CRISIS

Brazil in shock as Minister Moro’s imprisonment of Lula questioned

15-06-2019 09:43 Justice Minister Sergio Moro sent ex-president Lula to prison on corruption charges as he led the polls for the presidency, paving the way for Jair Bolsonaro’s victory.

CORRUPTION

Moro and the moral dilemma

15-06-2019 08:31 Argentina and Brazil’s historical processes are intertwined, and in comparing both it is possible to come to a macro-historical understanding that helps put in context what is going on beneath the surface.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

DONALD TRUMP

Trump says he'd 'of course' tell FBI if he gets foreign dirt

14-06-2019 15:55 The comments are an apparent walkback from comments he made earlier this week that he would consider accepting dirt from a foreign government to win an election and not tell the FBI.

Corruption

Argentine ex-official sentenced in money scandal at convent

13-06-2019 16:20 Former public works secretary José López, who served in both Kirchnerite administrations, was arrested in 2016 for hiding money in a convent. He denies wrongdoing.

VP candidate

CFK granted permission to visit daughter in Cuba

13-06-2019 15:44 Federal court allows candidate for vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, can travel to Cuba to visit her daughter Florencia.

Corruption investigation

Prosecutor blocks Fernández de Kirchner from making Cuba trip

11-06-2019 17:08 A federal court will now decide if the candidate for vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, can travel to Cuba to visit her daughter Florencia.

Lava Jato

Brazil's Moro under fire after leaked messages hint at anti-Lula conspiracy

10-06-2019 10:10 The Intercept alleges then-federal judge Sergio Moro and prosecutors involved in an investigation against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva worked together to jail former president.

KEY STORIES

June 2nd-8th: What We Learned This Week

08-06-2019 12:26 Stories that caught our eye in the last seven days.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Judge orders Fernández de Kirchner stand trial for alleged public works graft

06-06-2019 20:17 Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio demands vice-presidential hopeful be remanded in custody, before slapping an 11-billion-peso lien on her assets.

KEY STORIES

May 27th-June 2nd: What we learned this week

01-06-2019 11:59 The stories that caught our eye from the last seven days.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in court for second hearing of corruption trial

27-05-2019 13:30 Former president is accused of having led an illegal association centred on more than 50 public works projects involving Lázaro Báez, a Kirchner-aligned businessman, in Santa Cruz Province, during her 2007-2015 administration.

CFK IN THE DOCK

CFK heads into shadows after dramatic court date

25-05-2019 10:54 After a week that began with Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the dock, as the first trial against her opened, the former president is now expected to spend the coming weeks away from the spotlight, building alliances.

latin america

Pope blasts corruption in Panama

24-01-2019 15:51 POPE FRANCIS

FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH

Four years on, the truth behind Alberto Nisman's death remains hidden

18-01-2019 17:28 The prosecutor was found dead just hours before he would have detailed his accusations against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner before Congress.

CORRUPTION AND THE COURTS

Kirchnerite tycoon Lázaro Báez in the dock as ‘Ruta K’ case begins

03-11-2018 09:49 Businessman stands trial for money-laundering charges related to public works contracts.

AS I SEE IT

Fighting corruption can carry a heavy price

25-08-2018 08:52 If the experience of Italy and Brazil is anything to go by, the costs of rooting out corruption could turn out to be far higher than Macri and the judges who are in full cry would like to think.

by James Neilson

PUBLIC-PRIVATE CORRUPTION

The Corruption Paradigm

18-08-2018 11:11 The cash that has disappeared would be enough to cover the current fiscal deficit, seen by many as one of the main causes of current economic stagflation, many times over. It must be recovered.

by AGUSTINO FONTEVECCHIA

KEY STORIES

Aug 13th-19th: What We Learned This Week

18-08-2018 08:48 What has happened in the last seven days?

EDITORIAL

Editorial: Korruption fallout

18-08-2018 08:42 The most immediate problem is how to finance public works because funding the deficit with debt becomes a far less attractive option with country risk reaching 700 points at times while the shadow of graft makes investment banks and the rest of the private sector shy away.

‘NOTEBOOK’ SCANDAL

Cristina strides back to court

18-08-2018 08:21 Compromised construction industry bosses are turning on CFK en masse to secure plea bargains with Judge Claudio Bonadio.

ON CORRUPTION AND THE COURTS

It takes three to tango

11-08-2018 12:24 Corruption in Argentina is very efficient, as everyone gets their cut.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

AS I SEE IT

The great protection racket

11-08-2018 10:49 Unless Pichetto and other Peronists come to the conclusion that their movement would be better off without her, CFK will continue to remain free to do whatever she likes.

by James Neilson