Buenos Aires Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio has again asked the Upper House to strip Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner off her parliamentary immunity so that she can be placed under pretrial detention for her alleged involvement as gang leader in the so-called “notebooks corruption scandal.”
The book topping Argentina's bestseller list is not a thriller or a murder mystery. It’s a crime story of another sort: a blockbuster about political corruption that suggests that bribery is an integral part of the country’s body politic. And neighboring Uruguay is also described as the perfect Swiss laundry for most of the money swindled from Argentina.
According to Buenos Aires daily Clarin, United States authorities have offered to collaborate with Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s government in the ongoing K notebook scandal by providing confidential information on a number of US bank accounts used to hold alleged Kirchner bribe money.
Argentine prosecutors questioned a construction executive related to President Mauricio Macri on Monday as part of a sprawling investigation into bribe payments made to the former government. Angelo Calcaterra, the former head of construction company Iecsa and Macri’s cousin, told prosecutors he was told by officials in former President Cristina Fernandez’ administration to pay cash in exchange for public works contracts.