Argentina’s Federal Criminal Cassation Court has joined two corruption cases involving former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for an Oct. 23 trial after prosecutors warned that separate proceedings would divide evidence.
The decision reverses a Sept. 17 order by Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal Federal N°5 that separated Hotesur from Los Sauces. Los Sauces already had an Oct. 23 trial date; Hotesur had been scheduled to begin March 19, 2027.
Argentina’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Unidad de Información Financiera (UIF), the country’s financial intelligence agency, appealed the split. Prosecutor Diego Velasco argued that separate trials would fragment evidence common to both cases and allow the first verdict to affect the second. The prosecutor’s office said the cases had proceeded together since 2019.
Prosecutors allege that hotel and property transactions moved money they believe came from fraud involving public road contracts in Santa Cruz province into the Kirchner family’s assets. They also allege that businessman Lázaro Báez paid for hotel rooms that went unused. Hotesur focuses on hotel operations, while Los Sauces examines property and hotel dealings, including transactions with companies linked to Báez and Grupo Indalo.
Those facing trial include Fernández de Kirchner’s son, Máximo Kirchner, Báez and former officials. The allegations will be tested in court.
Judges Daniel Antonio Petrone and Diego G. Barroetaveña formed the majority that restored the joint trial. Petrone found that the trial court had given insufficient reasons for splitting the cases and said practical concerns, including the number of witnesses, could be handled through trial arrangements. Judge Alejandro Slokar dissented, arguing that decisions about organizing proceedings generally belong to the trial court.
The combined trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 23.
