MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine ex-official Insaurralde seeks to bar the cash-stacks video from his graft case

Last week, federal prosecutor Sergio Mola had requested the detention of Insaurralde and Cirio, arguing there was a risk they might alter or hide evidence

The former cabinet chief of Buenos Aires province and ex-mayor of Lomas de Zamora, Martín Insaurralde, asked the courts not to use as evidence the video in which his ex-wife, television host Jesica Cirio, appears alongside stacks of dollars in the closet of the house they shared, as part of a case for alleged illicit enrichment and money laundering. The motion, filed before federal judge Luis Armella, mirrors the one Cirio herself had made days earlier; she also faces a pending order to give testimony.

Insaurralde's defense argued that the material originated in a “hacking” of Cirio's personal devices and that there were suspicions the images had been edited, and therefore asked that the exclusionary rule be applied, holding that the absence of a chain of custody makes it impossible to certify its authenticity. The video, released in June by the newspaper La Nación, shows the host handling boxes, bags and a suitcase with dollars; investigators preliminarily estimate it could amount to several million.

The defense's request contrasts, however, with the state of the forensic analysis. Judge Armella ordered a technical examination of the video to determine whether it is authentic or was altered and to reconstruct when and where it was recorded; according to judicial sources, the first indications point to the material being genuine. Experts also ruled out that the images had been recorded at a home in Nordelta, so the hypothesis focused on the house in the Fincas de San Vicente gated community, where the former couple lived. An accounting review, considered key to determining the origin of the funds, was due to conclude in mid-July.

The case originated in October 2023, after a luxury trip Insaurralde took to Marbella, Spain, with model Sofía Clerici came to light, an episode that led to his resignation as Buenos Aires cabinet chief. The investigation, focused on the former official's assets and the origin of certain funds, was revived in recent weeks with the release of the closet video.

Last week, federal prosecutor Sergio Mola had requested the detention of Insaurralde and Cirio, arguing there was a risk they might alter or hide evidence. Judge Armella rejected that request as premature, but ordered as a precautionary measure a ban on both leaving the country, as well as on Clerici, and instructed them not to travel more than 50 kilometers from their homes without authorization. Those under investigation have not yet been summoned to give testimony, and the case remains in the evidence-gathering stage, with no criminal responsibility established.