The opposition evaluates to denounce the President for influence peddling for the moratorium that benefits Cristóbal López

08/26/2020 - 11:07

• Clarín.com
• Politics

The block of deputies of the Civic Coalition, a party led by Elisa Carrió, is evaluating the possibility of denouncing the president for not complying with a recommendation of the Anti-Corruption Office (OA) or opening a criminal case for influence peddling against President Alberto Fernández. While the head of the PRO, Patricia Bullrich, said that the head of state "should lead by example" and show all his contractual relationships of the last three years.

The deputy and lawyer Juan Manuel López told Clarín that as soon as Fernández assumed, he asked the OA to recommend to the head of state that he issue " an affidavit of interests where he informs who the clients were" of his law firm before taking office.

It is a gesture of transparency  parallel to the annual and mandatory affidavit of assets and aims, above all, to detect potential conflicts of interest.

López did so because it had transpired that two of his clients who could generate a conflict of interest had been “Repsol (the former owner of YPF) and Indalo” .

"We gave the President the opportunity to be transparent and he refused to do so in a response to the Anti-Corruption Office," López added, commenting on a note on the matter published by La Nación .

"It corresponds to require the President to report to this office the list of persons - human or legal - who have provided services in the three years prior to assuming the presidency of the Nation - and the date of cessation of such benefits - that are or they have been concessionaires or suppliers of the State, or carry out activities regulated by this ", wrote in February Felix Crous, head of the organism, in an opinion.

In a note sent to the head of the OA, the President stated that he had already complied with the presentation of the affidavit of assets. "I do not notice having breached any regulations that force me to provide other information," he added.

Later, Fernández indicated that his company Callao 1960 - where the study he had with the Minister of Justice, Marcela Losardo, operated -  "does not operate commercially . "

Regarding the obligation to exercise the presidency with exclusive dedication, he clarified that the position he has in the UBA Law School is not that of a holder, but rather “part-time interim teacher”, that is, he did not compete. He clarified that he is not doing it ad honoren.

In 2018, Oil administrators found an invoice for 435,600 pesos in the name of Fernández , who stated that "it was released by mistake, canceled and consequently never collected."

However, Congressman López insists on the alleged conflict of interest. He said that in July President Fernández "sent Congress an unprecedented moratorium for one of his former clients, the Oil Combustibles company of the Cristóbal López group Indalo." Oil took businessman K and his partner Fabián de Sousa to an oral trial for tax fraud to the state of more than 8 billion pesos.

“Conflicts of interest are externalized and processed before they become crimes. We gave the President the opportunity and he did not want it. What else will he have to hide? "Asked López.

For her part, Patricia Bullrich again targeted Alberto Fernández, after the criticisms he expressed through an open letter published on social networks where he accused him of calling for dialogue to seek "impunity."

This time, the head of the PRO questioned the refusal of the President of the Nation to respond to the Anti - Corruption Office for whom he worked for before arriving at the Casa Rosada.

"The message it leaves is poor and dangerous," he said through his Twitter account. And he added that the president "should lead by example" and thus "avoid any suspicions related to his previous activity."

If Alberto Fernández refuses to answer who he worked for before being elected President, the message he leaves behind is poor and dangerous. You should lead by example, provide the information to the Anti-Corruption Office and avoid any suspicions related to your previous activity. https://t.co/LHuKRXJEWH

Thus, Bullrich referred to other parts of the president's response. "I do not notice that I have breached any regulations that force me to disclose other information than the one duly provided," was the response of the president to the OA's request.

The reference is the affidavit of assets that he presented at the end of January, detailing his assets and realizing that the Puerto Madero department where he lived was not owned by him, but by the publicist K Enrique "Pepe" Albistur.

However, of his activity in the legal study and the "advice on criminal matters" of 2017 to the firm Oil Combustibles, Cristóbal López's oil company, no further details are known.

For this reason, Bullrich once again questioned Fernández and asked him to provide the relevant information to the Anti-Corruption Office regarding his work before reaching the Presidency.