Probe into alleged corruption at disability agency implicates Milei’s sister

Argentina’s Judiciary carried out 16 raids on Friday to gather evidence in an investigation into an alleged corruption case at the ANDIS national disability agency.

The operation was the latest development in the corruption probe, in which President Javier Milei’s sister and a top government advisor has been named, judicial sources confirmed to several local media outlets

The probe was launched after the emergence of purported audio recordings of the agency’s former head, Diego Spagnuolo, who was dismissed from his post on Thursday. 

In the recordings, a voice identified as Spagnuolo refers to bribes and kickbacks. He mentions Karina Milei, the head of state’s sister and presidential chief-of-staff, among other senior officials.

In the messages, the voice says he warned Milei that if a crisis erupted he would not take the fall, claiming to hold compromising messages from the President’s sister.

The authenticity of the recordings has yet to be confirmed by the courts, although sources close to the case, speaking anonymously, said they had not so far been denied.

In the audios, bribes are allegedly solicited within the disability sector, implicating Karina Milei and one of her top advisors, Eduardo ‘Lule’ Menem.

“They’re stealing, you can play dumb, but don’t dump this burden on me. I’ve got all Karina’s WhatsApp” messages, says the voice believed to be Spagnuolo in one of the audio clips leaked to local press.

The complaint that initiated the probe was filed by lawyer Gregorio Dalbón. It was filed shortly after the lower house Chamber of Deputies voted to overturn Milei’s presidential veto of a law declaring an emergency in the disability sector and allocating more funds to it – a political setback for the President and his much-vaunted ‘chainsaw’ austerity approach to government.

The scandal has broken as campaigning ramps up ahead of Argentina’s midterm elections on October 26, in which support for Milei’s administration will be put to the test.

The recordings suggest that pharmaceutical companies were expected to make payments to secure state contracts, with the collection allegedly coordinated by Karina Milei and Menem through distributor Suizo Argentina, one of the main suppliers of medicines to the national disability agency.

During Friday’s raids, authorities seized US$266,000 in cash, divided into envelopes, from the car of one pharmaceutical executive, several media outlets reported.

Investigators also seized mobile phones, computers, documents relating to medicine purchases and tenders, and other electronic devices for examination by the prosecutor’s office, under the supervision of federal judge Sebastián Casanello.

No arrests have been ordered, nor have indictments been made public, due to the confidentiality of the investigation.

According to the criminal complaint reported in the media, the recordings suggest that Karina Milei and Menem “may have participated in a scheme of collecting and paying bribes related to the purchase and supply of medicines, directly affecting public funds” – conduct which, if proven, would constitute crimes including bribery, fraudulent administration and illicit association.

The government has, for the most part, remained silent on the case. Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni, one of the administration's main vocal militants, posted on social media over the weekend that “time is the only judge that always reveals the truth.”

Milei placed Spagnolo, his former lawyer, at the helm of ANDIS at the end of 2023 when he took office as head of state.

Spagnolo’s path into Milei’s inner circle reflects the President’s reliance on allies first found online. Initially a heavy social media user who echoed the economist’s vitriolic tone, he became a loyal defender when few in politics or the media took the libertarians seriously. 

His offer to represent Milei free of charge in lawsuits against journalists in 2021 earned the trust of both Javier and Karina. 

– TIMES/AFP/NA