Lucia Salinas
02/24/2021 1:47 PM
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 02/24/2021 2:03 PM
They were not friends, they are not friends.
They clarified it before the judges on several occasions.
However, justice did not focus on the personal bond but on
the commercial relationship that Cristina Kirchner and Lázaro Báez maintained for more than a decade,
while the fortunes of both were growing simultaneously.
According to the judicial accusations, that bonanza was due in part to the business crossed between the two.
Or all three, when Néstor Kirchner was still alive.
This Wednesday, the Federal Oral Court 4 (TOF 4) found Lázaro Báez responsible for laundering $ 60 million.
That money was introduced to the market to make it legal,
while it managed hotels belonging to the Kirchner family and received road contracts from its only client: the State
.
While Lázaro Báez was a state contractor,
the Justice detected at least 28 commercial operations that linked him to the Kirchner marriage
.
In courts it was certified that the employer's assets increased between 2004 and 2015 by 12,127%, and that of Austral Construcciones (its flagship firm) by 45,313%.
In that period his only clients were the Kirchners and the national government.
The money laundering conviction against Báez has two paths that closely touch the vice president: the crime preceding these illegal maneuvers is the 51 road contracts for 46,000 million pesos, the legality of which has been judged since 2019 by another Court, in a case where the main accused is Cristina Kirchner.
But in addition, the Route of Money K led to another file where it is investigated
whether the fortune of businessman K was acquired in a personal capacity or as a front man for the former President.
In 2005 Lázaro Báez already owned Austral Construcciones.
He did not come from the field of public works and had never been in charge of a company.
On June 10 of that year, the company
signed a trust agreement with Néstor Kirchner, represented by his son Máximo.
It was for the construction of a building located in Río Gallegos, which was registered in the name of Los Sauces, the Kirchner real estate agency that ended up being investigated for money laundering.
It was the beginning of a series of businesses.
Two years later, a purchase and sale contract was signed between the construction company that during that period -only in one year- had received 20 tenders from the National State through the National Highway Administration and the Santa Cruz delegation of that body.
Baez sold the Kirchners a five-unit complex
.
A swap operation was carried out on February 28, 2007, but it was between Cristina Kirchner and the construction company whose main client was the national government.
This exchange was for the former president to expand one of her hotels, the one adjacent to her residence in El Calafate, on land that belonged to Austral.
One day before this operation,
Cristina
signed
a rights transfer contract in favor of Báez:
this made it possible to expand the Los Sauces Casa Patagónica boutique hotel.
Around 2008, Néstor Kirchner with the representation of his son Máximo, sold and transferred to Austral for 381,600 pesos the rights arising from the purchase and sale of a property located in Río Gallegos.
That year the sale of a property in the capital of Santa Cruz was also signed for 317,000 pesos.
This real estate operation was repeated but with the participation of Cristina Kirchner on June 19, 2008. Thus,
there were six more sales tickets through which Lázaro Báez paid the Kirchners 2,620,700 pesos,
with a few months difference during 2008 and always with the intervention of the same clerk: Leandro Albornoz.
There was a more important operation: the Kirchners sold a house to the Epelco company - linked to contractor K - for 3,170,000 pesos.
It is the chalet where they lived in Río Gallegos during the presidency of Néstor Kirchner.
Among the businesses concluded between the Kirchners and Báez there was a "mutual contract" (December 2007) through which Austral Construcciones made a loan of 8,329,596.60 pesos that had to be repaid in two years.
The Justice determined that this operation allowed Nestor and Cristina Kirchner to buy that year Hotesur, the firm that owns the Alto Calafate hotel ... which Báez later managed.
In addition, with seven of his firms,
the businessman rented rooms for years that he never used
, but with which he guaranteed income of 14 million pesos to the former presidents.
In the case "Hotesur" it is stated that as guarantee of said loan, "Néstor Kirchner delivered a transferable certificate of fixed term deposit for the sum of 3,155,642 dollars, which later the president of 'Austral Construcciones', Julio Enrique Mendoza , accepted as a debt cancellation instrument ”.
The court determined that
Cristina, Máximo and Florencia Kirchner together with Lázaro Báez laundered 80 million pesos through the hotel firm.
A private concession contract was added to the list of commercial operations between the Kirchners and Báez.
It was in July 2008, when the firm Kank & Costilla (from Báez) and Valle Miter - which managed the Kirchners' hotels - to manage the Las Dunas inn, located in El Calafate.
This small tourist complex was later sold to former presidents, and they turned it into a four-star hotel, tripling its area.
The work was done by Austral Construcciones.
For this reason, around 2011 Valle Miter (from Báez), which managed the Las Dunas hotel, signed the operation with the Néstor Kirchner Succession.
Thus, from being the owner, he became the manager of the hotel.
Valle Miter had already signed a lease contract with Hotesur years ago for its administration and commercial exploitation, in exchange for
a monthly rental fee of $ 80,000.
During those years there were also lease contracts between the Kirchners and Báez for three properties located in Río Gallegos, for which contractor K
paid more than $ 4,000 per month per year.
Through Los Sauces, the real estate company whose main tenants were Lázaro Báez and Cristóbal López (they accounted for 86% of the turnover), other businesses were held that were the object of the investigation for money laundering.
Austral's owner guaranteed income of 21 million pesos as a tenant.
The work contracts between Los Sauces and the firm Loscalzo and Del Curto, of the Austral Group, which
built four apartments for 1,466,012.31 pesos, were also investigated in court.
Austral Construcciones later was the tenant.
A second construction contract was signed between Grupo Austral and Los Sauces, to build another four apartments for 1,478,158.62 pesos.
"In addition, as interest for late cancellation of two invoices, the Loscalzo and Del Curto company paid the firm Los Sauces on December 28, 2010 the sum of 1,241,512.72 pesos, which yielded
a total disbursement of 4,185,683.65 pesos
”, is stated in the case.
Then the lease contracts were signed for
these apartments built by Báez, who later played the role of tenant
.
Six contracts were signed and constantly renewed, as determined by justice.
