Court revisits driver’s bribery testimony in ‘Cuadernos’ corruption trial

A court in Buenos Aires heard on Thursday testimony about an alleged “collection system” for bribes that operated during the governments of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner between 2003 and 2015.

In the third hearing of the so-called ‘Cuadernos’ corruption notebooks trial, testimony was given by Oscar Centeno, the former chauffeur to Roberto Baratta, who was then number two official at the Federal Planning Ministry. 

Centeno sits at the centre of what prosecutors describe as Argentina’s largest-ever corruption case.

Among the main defendants are Fernández de Kirchner, several former officials from her government and a group of business leaders. They face charges of criminal association, passive bribery and receiving illicit payments. 

In total, the case involves 86 defendants in total and hundreds of witnesses.

Fernández de Kirchner, 72, is accused of leading a criminal association and receiving millions of dollars across more than 200 alleged payments from business leaders in exchange for favourable treatment in public works contracts.

Thursday’s hearing revisited statements from cooperating defendants, among them Centeno, the chauffeur who allegedly logged his journeys in a series of eight notebooks.

The driver told investigators that it was his habit to write everything down – dates, times, routes, delivery points and the names of senior officials involved – and that these records formed the basis of the case now before the court.

According to his testimony, the Kirchner administrations operated a structured “collection system” in which he transported officials carrying bags of cash to the presidential residence and other locations. 

Centeno added fresh detail about the alleged routine: alleging that Baratta would often tell him, “You know what to do” –  meaning he should step aside while bags were removed from the vehicle. 

The defendant-turned-whistleblower also said Daniel Muñoz, the late private secretary to Néstor Kirchner, frequently appeared to collect the bags at the Quinta de Olivos presidential residence and that he sometimes saw the former president walking nearby during the deliveries.

Centeno stated that during Fernández de Kirchner’s Presidency, he and Baratta continued to transport bags of money, and that on several occasions he saw the then-head of state. Trips to Olivos, he said, typically required prior approval from one of her secretaries.

“With Cristina already president, the collections were made once a week,” he said in his initial 2018 statement, given when the allegations first emerged. “With Néstor Kirchner alive we went more often, sometimes for work but many other times to deliver the bags of money, up to three times a week.”

Centeno also testified that after Néstor’s death in 2010 “the destinations changed”: the trips allegedly stopped going to the property at Uruguay 1306 [in Buenos Aires City] and began to be routed to Baratta’s home instead. 

He said collections shifted from several times a week to a weekly schedule, and that he briefly stopped writing the notebooks before later resuming them.

Additional testimony came from José López, the former public works secretary under both Kirchner presidents, who is currently imprisoned in the ‘Vialidad’ corruption case. 

López told the court that Fernández de Kirchner “knew everything” about the alleged collection scheme. He described what he called a major delivery to her Recoleta flat in 2007, saying a suitcase containing around US$8 million in funds from roadworks contracts was brought to the main entrance and that he spoke several times that day with Muñoz.

López also said the scheme was halted after Néstor Kirchner’s death but restarted in 2011, claiming former federal planning minister Julio De Vido instructed him to resume the operation and to coordinate with Baratta.

The trial, held virtually, began on November 6 and is expected to continue until 2026 or later. One weekly hearing is scheduled, though the Judiciary has ordered the pace increased to two sessions a week.

Before hearing testimony, the federal court continued its preliminary reading of the 2019 order to proceed to trial, which runs to more than 600 pages.

Fernández de Kirchner faces a maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison. If convicted, she could, due to her age, request house arrest, a measure she already enjoys in a separate graft case.

In that case – known as ‘Vialidad’ – she was sentenced to six years in jail and handed a lifetime ban from public office.

Earlier this week, the courts ordered the seizure of US$500 million in assets belonging to Fernández de Kirchner, her family and her co-defendants as compensation for alleged damage to the State.

The former president insists the proceedings amount to a “judicial show” and a “circus,” and claims that Centeno’s notebooks are “fakes.”

– TIMES/AFP/NA