Approvals for searches in the property of Insaurralde, Sirio, and Sofia Clerici: a case of money laundering and illegal enrichment.

The judicial investigation aimed at establishing the origin of the assets of former provincial cabinet head Martin Insaurralde and two of his former partners has made a step forward: in recent hours, federal judge Ernesto Kreplak from La Plata issued search warrants for homes in Martínez, Banfield, Lomas, Ezeiza, Nordelta, and CABA. This property is allegedly registered in the names of Insaurralde, his ex-wife Jesica Cirio, and his partner Sofia Clerici, with whom he traveled across the Mediterranean.

At the request of prosecutor Sergio Mola, operations conducted by the Federal Police are aimed at gathering evidence, electronic devices, receipts for the purchase of property, and other items for the case concerning money laundering and illegal enrichment that is being heard in this court.

Kreplak took on the case after his colleague from Lomas, Federico Villena, stepped back, citing that he was a victim of "moral violence" due to suspicions about his alleged friendship with the mayor of the area, who was on vacation.

The operations authorized by the judge were to be carried out in two apartments in a building in Palermo, registered in the name of Sirio; two properties of the Clerici model (in Nordelta and Vicente López) and three owned by former minister Axel Kicillof. One of them is the estate he owns in San Vicente.

Insaurralde has been in isolation since photos of his yacht trip on the "Bandito" in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea in Marbella, Spain, were published. These images of luxury and monetary extravagance have struck a blow to the political reputation of a man who considered himself the "leader" of the league of Peronist mayors in the suburbs.

On the same Saturday, September 30, when the photos were published on the entrepreneur's Instagram account, Insaurralde was forced to resign from his position in the province. The following Monday, at the request of UxP presidential candidate Sergio Massa, he also stepped down from the list of candidates for the advisors of Lomas de Zamora. Nevertheless, in that area, the official ruling front received 50% of the votes on Sunday. Federico Otermin was proposed as the successor to the luxury traveler and garnered 10 percentage points more than in the first senatorial elections in August. The story with the photos and the luxury yacht did not affect the election campaign. However, the judicial investigation is ongoing.

After the scandal broke, a number of criminal complaints were filed. Kreplak accepted the withdrawal of Vilena and combined them into one case. He immediately took a series of measures to gather evidence. He demanded the cancellation of the fiscal and banking secrecy of Insaurralde, Sirio, and Clerici. He requested reports from the National Tax and Customs Administration, the Central Bank, the National Securities Commission (CNV), and a dozen government agencies. He asked the Financial Information Unit (UIF) to consult with their colleagues from Spain and Uruguay about the possibility of existing reports on suspicious transactions.

In Spain, because that’s where the scandalous trip took place, and in the neighboring country due to an alleged bank account that was supposedly opened to deposit funds as part of the divorce agreement between Insaurralde and Sirio.

The judge requested information from the National Tax and Customs Administration about the registered property of three defendants over the past ten years. Specifically, he asked for "all information contained in each category of the E-FISCO information database, with the most accessible level of transparency." He also requested the tax authority to provide "a report aimed at determining the composition and development of the property and financial situation of the specified individuals, which should be prepared separately for each of them" (Insaurralde, Sirio, and Clerici).

He asked the Central Bank to provide data on accounts and cards registered in the names of the involved parties; from Western Union, to report whether they sent money abroad or received it; from the Palermo racetrack, to find out if they own any boxes or horses; from the Argentine Jockey Club, to check if they have any horses registered in their name; and from the vehicle and aircraft registries, to see if they have any registered property there.

In other words, a real "raid" on all government, public, and private entities that can provide information about the movements or registrations of property and money.

After this decision, dated October 6, the case was transferred to the secret summary proceedings. The results of all these requests for evidence are still unknown.

La Plata (correspondence)