Suspicions of washing: the mysterious land that the Kirchners bought and never declared in El Calafate

Lucia Salinas

06/15/2021 12:18 PM

• Clarín.com

• Politics

Updated 06/15/2021 12:18 PM

"I am not aware that Los Sauces SA owns other types of property," said the judicial inspector in his latest report, through which he returned to the Kirchners the management of their real estate, the same that the federal justice held was used to carry out money laundering operations.

These are nine properties that show a value, as company assets, of 953,281,600 pesos.

However, an expert opinion ordered by the Court that must try Cristina Kirchner and her children Máximo and Florencia argued that there is

"a property without cadastral data or documentation on its acquisition."

It is a mysterious piece of land located in El Calafate and financed with contributions from shareholders to the company.

The Kirchner real estate company, which is under investigation, always had the same properties and never managed third-party assets.

In fact, the judicial file highlights that 86% of the billing was used to launder money together with the main tenants who were Lázaro Báez and Cristóbal López.

The purchase of the properties, the rental contracts through which the properties were usufruct, and

the documentation that should support these operations were appraised at the request of Cristina Kirchner and Lázaro Báez.

The work carried out by the body of experts of the Supreme Court of Justice was requested in October 2019 and a partial report was presented to the Federal Oral Court 5 (TOF 5), which was accessed by

Clarín.

The real estate of the Kirchners when it was raided by Justice.

Photo Emmanuel Fernández.

The intervening experts were seven: one official -Abel Brito-, three for the prosecution -Aída Konig, Nicolás Scher and Magdalena Rúa- and another three from Sergio Freidzon, Bibiana Paletta, José Luis Ganenceiran.

When analyzing whether Los Sauces SA had funds to acquire those nine properties that are part of the declared assets, the experts found no less data:

that of the land that is not found in the real estate papers.

The data had already been detected by a previous expert, ordered during the investigation of the case in 2016, but there were no further observations in this regard.

In the last report delivered to TOF 5, the situation was exposed under the following title:

"Property without cadastral data, or documentation on its acquisition."

One of the properties in Río Gallegos managed by Los Sauces.

In the analysis of the accounting documentation, an entry was observed "for the registration of the purchase of land, of which no documentation related to its acquisition has been located, nor additional data regarding the cadastral description of the property," the report states. expert.

It is the entry of Diario N ° 3 of February 8, 2008, and was overturned under the description of “urban land, El Calafate”.

Los Sauces SA has the land recognized as Lot 42-C in the tourist village, which has a value of 150 million pesos.

This land, which was classified as supposedly vacant, is in fact part of the Hotel Los Sauces Casa Patagónica complex where “La Casona” is located, one of the largest and most emblematic houses in the complex.

Cristina, Máximo and Florencia Kirchner will be tried in the Hotesur and Los Sauces cases for money laundering.

When compiling the data, the experts detected that the accounting entry that spoke of a non-urban land, did not respond to that already registered located in Cristina Kirchner's boutique hotel, but that

there was one without documentation and for which money movements were made for de side of the company.

This property, lacking all documentation, as indicated by the specialists in the partial report, was purchased under the acronym UB670 from the municipality of El Calafate.

"From the analysis of the preceding accounting entry, it is reported that the land was acquired assuming a debt with the Municipality of El Calafate for $ 108,919.20 (80%) and a cash payment for $ 27,229.80 (20%)", it was explained.

A complex of houses managed by the real estate company K Los Sauces in Río Gallegos.

This payment in cash was made with the funds integrated as capital stock by the shareholders, "as it arises from the reading of the accounting movements of the" Cash "account.

In addition, it arises from the reading of the Daily Book Nº1, the debt assumed with the Municipality of El Calafate was paid in 24 installments of $ 4,538.30 (accounting account: 211/001) ”, indicated the experts.

How was the land paid for? In 23 installments of $ 4,538 according to the accounting entries analyzed. The first cancellation was made in February 2008 and ended on January 4, 2010. Los Sauces SA had sufficient funds to meet these payments. Regarding the origin of the funds, the experts reported that the payment of installments No. 1 to No. 11 "was made in cash with the funds integrated as capital stock by the shareholders."

While the payment of installments No. 12 to No. 23 "could have been made with funds generated by the Company's own business activity (real estate leases) or with a personal contribution from the shareholder Néstor Carlos Kirchner to the Company" and it was added that the origin of the funds for installment No. 24 corresponds to a "personal cash contribution made by the shareholder Néstor Carlos Kirchner on 01/04/2010".

More suspicions

It is not the only vacant lot of the real estate that caught the attention of the experts.

Located in Río Gallegos, there is a property covered with grasslands and with a fence that delimits it, on which the Kirchners never decided to build, it is valued at $ 312,500. The expert report stated that "the sale of the property was documented (...) for an amount of US $ 97,000, and in turn approved by Board Act No. 12" but that "the origin of the funds for such real estate operation, since from the reading of the Daily Book Nº 1 of Los Sauces SA, no accounting record related to the purchase of this property was visualized ”.

The irregular situation observed is added to others already exposed by the expert report, and it is that in the case of the apartments located in Puerto Madero, that Cristóbal López knew how to rent with two of his companies. It was indicated that Los Sauces "did not have sufficient funds" for its acquisition. Regarding the two apartment complexes that Báez built and later rented, it was explained that in order to make this investment in part they had money transferred by Hotesur -the family's hotel company, also investigated for laundering- and in turn they were financed with contributions irrevocable made by Néstor Kirchner. This last mechanism also made it possible to purchase the land from the real estate company that is located in El Calafate.