MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine former minister charged with cover up

Former Economy Minister Felisa Miceli

Argentina's former economy minister was charged Monday with trying to cover up the discovery of a bagful of cash she stashed in her office bathroom. Felisa Miceli now faces prosecution on charges of alleged cover-up and destruction of evidence. She also faces a 200.000 pesos embargo.

Miceli resigned July 16 after a routine security inspection turned up the equivalent of 64.000 US dollars in Argentine and U.S. currency in a brown paper bag stashed at her office bathroom. She said she meant to buy real estate with the cash, but her busy schedule kept her from banking the money. "This is a grave injustice," she told independent news agency Noticias Argentinas Monday. "I'm just indignant. This is a fabricated case." However Ms Miceli repeatedly contradicted herself under questioning according to judicial sources. Apparently most of the money was from her brother who had saved for a hip surgery which was finally financed by medical insurance. Furthermore, why the money was found inside a thermo-sealed bag, similar to those handled by issuing institutions, such as central banks still remains unclear. "None of the witnesses could identify the envelope with the money as coming from the Central Bank. The tag was coarsely stuck later, it's obvious", she insisted. The scandal shook the administration of former president Nestor Kirchner, whose wife Cristina succeeded him in December. At the time she claimed the whole incident was fabricated because she impeded the payment of a huge sum of money to a financial group, linked to bankruptcies in the eighties and nineties. Her final statements with the press were also rather mysterious: "But you can be sure I won't be the scapegoat for the cover up of Argentina's national issues", she said. "People have to be on the outlook because at some point those who are after me will have to pay". If finally convicted under Argentine crime law "destruction of evidence" carries from one to six years of imprisonment and cover up from six months to three years.