Trial of Kueider gang transferred to Comodoro Py following further judicial delay
The TOF 5 of San Martín declined jurisdiction in the case against former senator Kueider's associates. The file moves to Federal Justice in Buenos Aires, giving more time to the accused.
Kueider case: TOF 5 of San Martín relinquishes jurisdiction and trial moves to Buenos Aires
The Federal Oral Court 5 (TOF 5) of San Martín ruled this Thursday that it lacks jurisdiction to try members of the gang of former senator Edgardo Kueider and ordered the file to be sent to the Federal Criminal Justice of Buenos Aires City. According to infobae.com, the decision represents a further delay in a process that has already accumulated months of delays and directly benefits the accused, who gain time before facing the oral trial.
Why TOF 5 rejected its own jurisdiction
The tribunal, composed of judges Javier Arzubi Calvo, Esteban Rodríguez Eggers and Juan Manuel Gaset Maisonave, argued two reasons for declining. The first: the investigated facts allegedly occurred in Paraná, Concordia, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Quilmes and Berazategui. "That is, none within this jurisdiction," the three-judge panel stated.
The second reason is linked to the first. Buenos Aires would be the nucleus of the organisation and the point from which directives were issued that were later executed in other cities. The tribunal cited the criteria of the federal prosecutor of San Isidro himself, Fernando Domínguez, who had already delineated that geographical perimeter when drafting the ruling for elevation to trial. "There is no doubt that the greatest number of pieces of evidence were gathered in the capital's sphere," the TOF 5 concluded.
Charges against the former legislator's associates
Kueider's partners and associates face accusations of money laundering, falsification of balance sheets and tampering with public documents. All these crimes are linked to the manoeuvres which, according to Justice, the former senator allegedly used to conceal a patrimonial increase incompatible with his declared income.
Early in the year, prosecutor Domínguez and correctional judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado elevated that part of the investigation to trial. The oral debate is now suspended until a competent tribunal is appointed in the Federal Capital.
Kueider and his partner detained in Paraguay
The former Entre Ríos legislator and his partner, Iara Guinsel, remain detained in Paraguay and were kept out of this stage of the proceedings. His extradition to Argentina will not occur until judicial proceedings conclude in the neighbouring country.
The case against Kueider arose as an offshoot of the file known as "Securitas", in which the alleged payment of bribes by that private security company to public officials in order to obtain surveillance contracts is being investigated. The manoeuvre allegedly involved Enersa, the state electrical distribution company of Entre Ríos. Kueider represented the State's interests in that firm during his tenure as General Secretary of the Governorship, between 2015 and 2019.
A message from one of the businessmen implicated in "Securitas" mentions the former senator as a key contact for the operation. With that element, added to a report that incorporated data from Kueider's sworn statement—revealed by the outlet "El Disenso"—Arroyo Salgado opened the file that now seeks a tribunal.
No formal connection between the two files
The TOF 5 also noted that, at this stage, there is no subjective connectivity between the "Securitas" case and the investigation into Kueider: those charged in one do not appear in the other and vice versa. The former senator would be the nexus between both cases, but being detained in Paraguay he has not been questioned or formally charged in either of them to date.
In parallel, the Supreme Court has already endorsed that both Arroyo Salgado and the Justice of Entre Ríos continue investigating Kueider independently.
The TOF 5 of San Martín renewed its composition in June, when Gaset Maisonave and Arzubi Calvo joined following Senate agreements. Rodríguez Eggers has been part of the tribunal since before that change.
Source: Google News AR — Crime