Argentina’s political landscape has been hit by another lurid corruption scandal after it emerged that a raid on properties linked to a former head of two top state firms uncovered more than US$2.5 million in cash, Class A drugs and secretive surveillance equipment.
Facundo Leal, the former head of the ARSAT state telecommunications firm and the ORSNA (Organismo Regulador del Sistema Nacional de Aeropuertos) airports regulator was arrested on Wednesday, May 27, after a raid on his Palermo flat the same day. Police seized cash, quantities of synthetic and illicit drugs and professional espionage gear during the operation.
The procedure was ordered in the framework of a case which did not originally have Leal as the main person of interest. According to court sources cited by the Noticias Argentinas news agency, the investigation began with the theft of technological equipment of high value belonging to ARSAT, but the advances in collecting evidence led to new lines of analysis, including presumed contractual irregularities.
During the raid – one of a dozen carried out simultaneously – police confiscated money in pesos and other foreign currencies, apart from the US$2.3 million in greenbacks. They also found quantities of ketamine, cocaine and MDMA. Sources attached to the case indicated that apart from the money and the drugs, electronic devices and documentation were also seized.
The cash divided among his Palermo flat and at gated community properties in Mendoza raise questions as to the provenance of Leal’s funds. Investigators are analysing whether the money found – which included currency from seven different currencies ranging from Brazilian reais to Tanzanian shillings – is the result of "tolls" collected for administrative favours under the wing of state power.
According to the local media, the find was circumstantial since the initial file did not contemplate either crimes linked to drug-trafficking, nor the possession of huge sums of money in cash.
The case is being tried by San Isidro federal judge Lino Mirabelli, with Fernando Domínguez in charge of the prosecution.
The items found at Leal's place opened up new hypotheses which must now be evaluated by the court to determine whether they bear any relation to the facts currently being investigated or whether they constitute independent crimes.
Career of ex-official
Leal has had an extended career in the public sector, but is not linked to a specific political party.
In August 2022, during Alberto Fernández’s Presidency, he was appointed President and General Manager of ARSAT, replacing Matías Tombolini. Politically, he was aligned with Frente Renovador leader Sergio Massa and maintained influential ties with prominent Mendoza business leaders. Following Javier Milei’s election victory, Leal successfully crossed over into the La Libertad Avanza administration, being appointed to the helm of ORSNA aviation regulatory agency.
Leal’s exit from ORSNA was formalised just over three months ago after presenting his resignation. At the time of the raid and his arrest, the ex-official remained linked to ARSAT as a permanent employee, despite his earlier departure from its helm, according to sources quoted by the media.
Leal was much more than a technocrat – within the sector they describe him as an allround fixer with the capacity to "open doors" and ease the paperwork in strategic areas where the permits and contract move multi-million-dollar sums.
The question now causing the federal courts sleepless nights is the kind of "favours" or services Leal might have facilitated from his posts at ARSAT and ORSNA. The man has worked for both anti-business Kirchnerite strains of Peronism and the pro-market Javier Milei – in all, a representative figure of public officials promoted by the business caste.
The ongoing investigation suggests that his role was one of "middleman,” working closely with former Transport Secretary Luis Pierrini.
Next judicial steps
The case is at the investigative stage and the confiscated items will be subjected to forensic studies. Court sources indicated that the investigation will seek to establish the origin of the funds, the destination of the money found and the possible links with the manoeuvres investigated in terms of the contracts and transactions within the state company.
Meanwhile Leal remains under arrest and at the disposal of the federal courts in a file which, on the basis of the raid of his flat, has added new legal, economic and political ramifications.
Faced with the scandal, the first reaction of the Casa Rosada was typical, explaining that before determining anything about the continuation of Leal or not, they will await the decisions of the court.
“This is a very delicate matter involving an official of the previous government. The court will decide. We won’t meddle in the investigation,” the Milei administration told Perfil when asked about Leal’s future.
Ruling party sources are working all out to detach themselves from the issue, above all maintaining that Leal comes from Mendoza, working in the public sector for the last 20 years at ARSAT and not responding to the President, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei nor top advisor Santiago Caputo. “A loose cannon” is how he is defined by those walking the corridors of Balcarce 50.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
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