MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

How deep was Massa's candidacy dented by the Insaurralde scandal?

Insaurralde is a political ally of Deputy Máximo Kirchner, despite not being a born and raised Kirchnerista. Hence the electoral relevance of the scandal.

The extent of the damage caused by the so-called Insaurralde Scandal to the presidential candidacy of Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa of the ruling Unión por la Patria (UP) front will not be known for certain until the Oct. 22 elections. The same will happen with Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kiciloff's reelection bid.

Martín Insaurralde was Buenos Aires Cabinet Chief when pictures of him enjoying an exclusive encounter on a luxury yacht off Marbella with a high-profile escort named Sofía Clerici. On top of his recent US$ 20 million divorce settlement with ex-wife Jesica Cirio, it is no secret that Insaurralde cannot afford such amenities on his salary.

Once the case broke out, Insaurralde resigned as Kiciloff's cabinet chief and also as a candidate for the Council of Lomas de Zamora, a district where he is currently mayor on unpaid leave.

Federal Prosecutor Sergio Mola opened an investigation into Insaurralde's wealth and his possible links to acts of corruption that would most likely implicate other officials in UP administrations at both the national and local levels.

Mola charged Insaurralde and Clerici with money laundering and requested that their assets be frozen and that they be barred from leaving the country. Mola also asked federal judge Federico Villena to recuse himself from the case because of his close friendship with Insaurralde, whose first wife - Liana Toledo - is a court official.

However, other courts in the City of Buenos Aires and in La Plata may also claim jurisdiction and it is likely that the case will not move forward until it is determined who will handle it.

Mola is known for having pushed together with fellow Prosecutor Diego Luciani for a six-year prison sentence against Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK).

Insaurralde is a political ally of Deputy Máximo Kirchner, despite not being a born and raised Kirchnerista. Hence the electoral relevance of the scandal.

Unconfirmed rumors in the Argentine capital also linked Insaurralde and his aides to the alleged sale of slots on the Lomas de Zamora Council ticket for Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza (LLA).

Villena is the same judge who handled the case of Emtrasur's Venezuelan-flagged Boeing 747-300 freighter, which had an Iranian history and crew.