Eduardo 'Lule' Menem, one of the top officials at the heart of a developing corruption scandal, has denied wrongdoing and denounced what he described as a "blatant political operation" by opponents of President Javier Milei's government.
Menem, who serves as undersecretary of institutional management in Milei's administration, made the statements early Monday morning as he denied the "completely false" allegations against him.
The official denied any links to the ANDIS national disability agency, the government body at the heart of the scandal that was previously led by Diego Spagnuolo, its chief who was fired last week.
The probe was launched after the emergence of purported audio recordings of Spagnuolo revealing that bribes are allegedly solicited within the disability sector over the supply of medicine and services.
The voice implicates Menem and Karina Milei, the head of state’s sister and presidential chief-of-staff, among other senior officials.
In the messages, the voice attributed to Spagnuolo 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.
Menem, speaking Monday, said the claims were a “blatant political operation by Kirchnerism” which is “completely false.”
“I never imagined I would have to come out and deny a blatant political operation by Kirchnerism, which was joined by a few media, leaders and journalists, using it to attempt to sully a government’s honesty and image. Given the size of that operation, I’m forced to make a statement,” he said in a release posted on social media.
“I can neither talk about nor assert anything as to the authenticity of the voice messages being circulated, but I can assure you that their content is completely false. I have never intervened in ANDIS contracts in any way, neither formally nor informally. No-one ever mentioned an act of corruption to me, nor did I learn of any unlawful act occurring at ANDIS or any other State body,” stated Menem.
He added: “I never talked to Karina Milei or the President about any ANDIS service, contract or particular activity. I know the work being carried out by this government against corruption and I do not question the integrity of any of the aforementioned officials.”
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.
The report was assigned to a federal court presided over by judge Sebastián Casanello. The prosecutor is Franco Picardi.
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.
Menem linked the developing scandal to the upcoming vote. “It’s no coincidence that this type of manoeuvres appear only two weeks before the election in Buenos Aires province, Kirchnerism’s last stronghold. We’re already used to these practices which only seek to damage the image of the government to gain a merely electoral benefit. Nothing they do will stop the fight we’re carrying out,” he wrote.
The statement was later retweeted by President Javier Milei, who has yet to reference the allegations directly at a public event.
Karina Milei, in turn, made a public appearance at a campaign rally on Saturday, though she too failed to reference the scandal directly, stating only that “the most important thing is that we’re all willing to wage war, to oversee things to stop them from robbing us anymore.”
Lower House Speaker Martín Menem came out to defend his cousin, declaring that “I would put my head on the block for Karina Milei, Lule Menem and all officials.”
“There has been an operation from all sides,” said Martín Menem in a television interview.
“I can’t give an opinion as to the veracity of the voice messages, but I can say that their content is false,” he said.
– TIMES/NA
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