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ARGENTINA | 04-09-2021 09:57

Judge Casanello sends 'Olivosgate' probe to San Isidro

Investigation into birthday party at Olivos presidential residence last year will be picked up by federal courts in San Isidro. President Alberto Fernández among the accused.

After several days of speculation about jurisdiction and competence regarding the high-profile investigation into the so-called ‘Olivosgate’ scandal, Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello decided Wednesday to send the case to prosecutors in San Isidro.

The decision, confirmed by judicial sources to Perfil, came after the judge ruled that the case was not in his jurisdiction. The alleged offences – which involve the violation of quarantine rules put in place by the Casa Rosada – did not take place in the federal capital, where Casanello’s court is located, but at the Olivos presidential residence, which falls outside the City’s bounds. 

The move could see the investigation given to Judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, the mother of the two daughters of widow of late AMIA prosecutor Alberto Nisman. Arroyo Salgado has yet to formally request the case, though she has requested to see the file.

The accused, among them President Alberto Fernández, face allegations of attending an illegal birthday party for First Lady Fabiola Yañez at the Olivos presidential residence in June 2020, in contravention of Covid lockdown rules.

The president asked for his dismissal from the case, considering that there was no crime since the meeting did not generate contagion to his own or third parties. He has proposed a fine for himself consisting of donating half of his salary to the ANLIS-Malbrán Institute for the next four months.

Other defendants are arguing that the quarantine was unconstitutional in the first place.
 

– TIMES/PERFIL

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