The so-called ‘Sueños Compartidos’ corruption case – one of the most iconic graft cases in Argentina’s recent history, relating to the mishandling of public funds earmarked for social housing projects during the Kirchner administrations – is set to begin this week, with a confirmed start date of March 4.
The long-awaited hearing follows a further postponement that reignited criticism over lengthy delays in high-profile corruption cases, amid the risk of the statute of limitations expiring – the casefile has been open for 15 years.
Proceedings will be overseen by Federal Oral Court No. 5, made up of judges Adriana Palliotti, Daniel Obligado and Adrián Grünberg. In the dock are several former officials from the government of former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015) and brothers Sergio and Pablo Schoklender, two former employees of the Fundación Madres de Plaza de Mayo.
The investigation began in 2011 following denunciations of large-scale diversions of funds within the framework of the ‘Sueños Compartidos’ housing programme, through which the human rights foundation built homes financed with funds from the national state. Over the years, the case has been marked by annulments, a change of judge, statute-of-limitations motions and technical disputes that delayed its progression to oral trial.
The process has come close to starting on more than one occasion. Although it was committed to trial in 2019, the first hearing this year was only scheduled for February 11 of this year. However, due to a change of defence counsel for Carlos Castellano, a former Public Works Secretariat employee and one of the defendants, the court set Wednesday, March 4, as the new starting date.
The case examines the destination of funds transferred by the state to the Fundación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, an offshoot of the iconic human rights group which, at the time, was headed by late activist Hebe de Bonafini.
for the construction of housing in various provinces and cities. According to the indictment, around 206 million pesos designated for the construction of housing in various provinces and cities were allegedly diverted to companies and personal assets linked to the Schoklender brothers and associates.
The accused
mong the main defendants are Sergio and Pablo Schoklender, two brothers who held different roles in administering the housing scheme. Their names are well-known to the public – they gained infamy after they were convicted in the 1981 murder of both of their parents, Mauricio Schoklender and Cristina Silva Romano.
Also charged is former Public Works secretary José López, another infamous figure. He is best remembered for the episode involving several bags of cash thrown over the wall of a convent. Lopez is currently jailed in the ‘Vialidad’ corruption case.
Also involved is former Federal Planning minister Julio De Vido, who is serving a sentence at Ezeiza prison over his role in the Once rail tragedy in 2012 and faces other criminal proceedings.
The list of defendants includes several other former national government officials, such as Abel Fatala (who was acquitted in the ‘Vialidad’ case), a former undersecretary of Public Works.
Hebe de Bonafini, the historic head of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, who died on November 20, 2022, had also been committed to trial in the case.
The case
According to the request committing the case to trial, between March 2008 and June 2011, Argentina’s national government transferred a total of 748 million pesos (around US$182 million at the official exchange rate in June 2011) to the foundation for housing construction. Of that sum, a shortfall of 206,438,454 (roughly US$50 million) pesos was identified, which was allegedly “diverted from its specific purpose.”
Works were to be carried out in the provinces of Chaco, Santiago del Estero and Misiones; in the cities of Bariloche (Río Negro) and Rosario (Santa Fe); in Buenos Aires City; and in the Buenos Aires Province districts of Almirante Brown, Tigre and Ezeiza. During the investigation it was established that Sergio Schoklender himself, or couriers sent by him, had withdrawn cash from banks, and used cheques that listed him as beneficiary.
The case was initially handled by late judge Norberto Oyarbide, whose investigation was heavily questioned. He was removed from the case in 2013 by the Buenos Aires Federal Court of Appeals.
The Madres de Plaza de Mayo was also admitted as a private complainant in the case – though not Bonafini in her personal capacity – against the foundation’s former legal representative and his brother, on charges of criminal association, fraudulent administration and document forgery.
Proceedings were later assigned to the court of Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, who had intervened in a related file. The current case has two strands: one concerning the diversion of funds from the social programme and another probing alleged money-laundering through the purchase of assets via companies under the brothers’ control. The second strand is expected to move forward once a possible verdict is reached in the first.
In 2019, Judge Martínez de Giorgi committed the case to trial, but delays have left it on the brink of the statute of limitations, as the six-year time span – equivalent to the maximum penalty provided for public fraud – will elapse in September.
Dismissals and witnesses
In December 2019, Martínez de Giorgi dismissed charges against 25 defendants due to a lack of sufficient evidence. The names included senator and former Chaco Province governor Jorge Capitanich; senator and former Santiago del Estero Province governor Gerardo Zamora; former Misiones Province governor Maurice Closs; Tigre Mayor Julio Zamora; and former Almirante Brown mayor Darío Giustozzi.
The judge noted that the funds in question “originated from the National State and, from the Public Works Secretariat; local jurisdictions were required to contract the Fundación Madres de Plaza de Mayo as an exclusive condition for their allocation.”
In statements, officials said the Federal Planning Ministry had instructed them that works were to be carried out under the ‘Sueños Compartidos’ programme.
Several of them will now testify as witnesses in the trial before Federal Oral Court No. 5, with the prosecution led by public prosecutor Diego Velasco.
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