The assessments detected rents above market value and transactions without commercial justification
One of the most relevant cases involves a duplex and five parking spaces in the Madero Center complex, in Puerto Madero, rented by Inversora M&S, belonging to the Indalo Group. The contract, signed in March 2012 by Máximo Kirchner and Fabián De Sousa, established monthly payments that started at USD 25,000 plus VAT and increased progressively. Official appraisals determined markups of 126.28% in 2012, 101.09% in 2013, 148.53% in 2014, and 134% in 2015, compared to market rental values.
The trial for the Los Sauces case, which involves Cristina Kirchner, Máximo Kirchner, and businessmen linked to Kirchnerism, revealed new details about the alleged money laundering schemes carried out through the family real estate company. According to the indictment read before the Federal Oral Court 5 (TOF 5), Lázaro Báez and Cristóbal López concentrated 88% of the company's revenue, through rental contracts that recorded markups of up to 148.53%.
The prosecution claims that Los Sauces S.A. was used by Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, along with their son Máximo, as a company intended to channel funds of illicit origin under the guise of legitimate real estate operations. Between January 2009 and March 2016, the company billed $29,362,422.30, of which $25,968,042.30 came from the business conglomerates of Báez and López, both state contractors during the Kirchner administrations.
The Indalo Group, led by Cristóbal López and Fabián De Sousa, contributed $19,116,391.33, equivalent to 65.1% of the total revenue, while the companies linked to Lázaro Báez transferred another $6,851,650.97, corresponding to 23.3%. According to the prosecution, these disbursements were made through unnecessary contracts, rents above market values, and operations lacking commercial justification.
The irregularities also extended to Lázaro Báez's companies, which rented properties from the Kirchners in Río Gallegos. In one of the buildings, located on Mariano Moreno Street, the prosecution detected a markup exceeding 41% when comparing the payments of Austral Construcciones with the rents subsequently paid by individuals. In another property, located at Alvear 391, the difference exceeded 25%.
The indictment also examined the operations linked to the La Aldea hotel in El Chaltén, purchased by Los Sauces for $200,000, despite an official appraisal establishing a value of $2,890,000. Subsequently, the establishment was rented to Valle Mitre, a company of Báez, through monthly fees of up to USD 15,000 plus VAT.
The accusation claims that these operations allowed for an extraordinary increase in the assets of Los Sauces, whose net worth rose from $100,000 to $12,122,430.26 by the end of 2015. Additionally, the prosecutors noted that the Kirchner family withdrew more than $10 million through alleged loan repayments, personal expenses, and fees, a mechanism that would have allowed them to incorporate the investigated funds into their private assets.
