A federal judge in Argentina has charged Anibal Fernandez, a former Cabinet Head, of committing fraud against the state. Fernandez was also a devoted comrade-in-arms of former Argentinian president Cristina Fernandez.
The Daily Journal was among the first publications to break out the story in Buenos Aires. It reported that Fernandez, along with two other former Cabinet ministers, had been accused of taking part in a fraudulent scheme. They allegedly reaped benefits from a government program designed to deliver free medicine, clothes, and cribs to marginalized children. The judge also stated in his motion that the three ex-Cabinet ministers failed to perform their duties responsibly while abusing their power and privileges.
The ruling also consisted of freezing their assets worth $23 million.
Fernandez and his two former colleagues denied the accusations as baseless; they also said they will file an appeal.
This case comes on the heel of the Argentinian Supreme Court's efforts to revamp the government institutions, including removing or reducing elements such as corruption. According to the Buenos Aires Herald, Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti recently disclosed that the tribunal judges had been working to address three of the major issues that had been dragging Argentinian society down: corruption, human trafficking, and illegal drug trade.
Government transparency is one of their measures to significantly reduce political corruption.
The Supreme Court's move is timely, as the toll that political corruption has taken on the country remains unabated, says the Council on Foreign Relations. The website blog unveiled the "Corruption Perception Index" report made by Transparency International. The report cited the consequences of corruption on Latin American countries, as well as the advantages of reining it in.
Corruption almost always leads to an economic decline, with the head of the government at the time the country was suffering both being subjected to investigation.
Argentina's record on addressing corruption remains very low, says the report. Only 2 percent of every corruption case filed since the 1980s have been resolved, and it also takes 14 years to settle a case.
This indicates that Fernandez's situation can still go either way, depending on the political resolve of the parties concerned, especially Argentina's judiciary.
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