HomeNewsBriefDetails Emerge on 'Dinero K' Corruption Scheme in Argentina
BRIEF

Details Emerge on 'Dinero K' Corruption Scheme in Argentina

ARGENTINA / 20 APR 2016 BY SAM TABORY EN

As a major scandal involving the diversion of millions of dollars from public works contracts rocks Argentina, a new report written by the judge presiding over the investigation provides details about the extent of the corruption.

Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello released a 122-page report on April 18 shedding new light on the corruption scandal, dubbed "La Ruta del Dinero K," in which contractor and businessman Lázaro Báez stands accused of diverting millions of dollars from state public works contracts. The report suggests an "international criminal structure" of shell companies was used to launder diverted funds allegedly connected to more than $650 million of state contracts awarded to Báez and his firm between 2003 and 2015, reported Clarín

Allegations against Báez first surfaced in 2013. Since then, the investigation has broadened to include business partners, financiers, and public officials that appear to be connected to Baez. The investigation is also casting shadows on former President Néstor Kirchner and his wife, and successor to the presidency, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, both of whose administration's awarded government contracts to Báez.

According to details released in Casanello's report, more than 11% of the total national publics work budget was directed to the state of Santa Cruz where Báez's firms were based, second only to the capital province of Buenos Aires which received 14%. Santa Cruz has a population of just 300,000 while Buenos Aires has a population of more than 15 million.

The report noted there was a concentration of contracts awarded to firms linked to Báez, despite irregularities in fulfilling those contracts. It also noted there was an unequal delay period between when contracts were awarded and when funds were disbursed that heavily favored Báez, with firms linked to Báez waiting an average of 34 days compared to the overall average waiting period of 231 days. 

Casanello processed preventative detention orders for Báez and his accountant, Daniel Pérez Gadín, on April 18, declaring them flight risks. Báez's attorney, Jorge Chueco, went missing on April 11, and was detained by authorities in neighboring Paraguay on April 19. He has since been turned over to Argentine authorities. 

InSight Crime

As new information emerges, the full range of actors implicated in the scandal is likely to grow. Casanello's report noted that at least two public officials had traveled on Báez's private jet, including the former head of the Tax Directorate of the Federal Public Revenue Administration, Ángel Rubén Toninelli, and Chief Engineer for the Provincial Roads Department for Santa Cruz, Jorge López Geraldi. Casanello has also called for questioning the former director of the Federal Public Revenue Administration, Ricardo Echegaray. 

Leonardo Fariña, an associate of Baez's imprisoned on separate charges of tax evasion, has provided extensive testimony to investigators suggesting that complicity in the Dinero K scheme ranges from private firms, to public institutions, all the way to the legislature. He spoke of a "systematic plan with the goal of emptying state funds through public works projects."

The saga in Argentina adds to the list of high-level corruption scandals that have unfolded elsewhere in Latin America over the last year. Guatemala saw a customs fraud ring bring down its president, Honduras is in the midst of an active investigation into a social security corruption ring, and Brazil is embroiled in a corruption scandal connected to dealings with its state owned oil company. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 7 JUL 2022

Ahmet Yilmaz* shouldn’t be in a dangerous profession. He’s not a cop or a criminal. Ahmet is a banana importer…

ELITES AND CRIME / 17 NOV 2021

At around 11 p.m. on April 6, 2020, Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Solís was returning to the military base he commanded…

COCA / 11 JUN 2021

In arguably the most polarizing election Peru has seen in its history, voters have selected, by a razor-thin margin, a…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…