Roads: Cristina Kirchner must return 685 billion pesos ($685 billion pesos) to the State

The accounting experts of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation completed a new estimate of the economic damage caused to the State in the context of the Vialidad case and determined that the amount that all those convicted must jointly return amounts to $684,990,350,139.86 (almost 685 billion pesos).

The figure updates the original calculation of the ruling, which had set the amount of the damage at $85 billion. This update is due to the application of monetary correction and inflation adjustment criteria to more accurately reflect the State's financial loss.

Cristina Kirchner among those convicted

Among the main convicted individuals is former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was found guilty of fraudulent administration to the detriment of public administration. The ruling permanently disqualified her from holding public office and imposed a sentence of six years in prison, which she is currently serving at her residence in the San Telmo neighborhood under the house arrest modality due to age.

The ruling also included other former officials and businesspeople, mostly linked to the awarding of road contracts in the province of Santa Cruz between 2003 and 2015. Joint liability means that all those convicted will be responsible for the total amount until the State recovers the full sum.

Pending evaluation by the Court

The amount determined by the experts will now be evaluated by Federal Oral Court No. 2, which will be responsible for defining how the restitution of funds to the State will be implemented. This is a key step in the execution of the ruling, since the updated amount may be claimed judicially through seizures and other asset measures.

The Vialidad case is considered the most relevant file in institutional and economic terms among the more than ten proceedings faced by the former president. Furthermore, it sets a precedent for asset recovery in crimes against public administration.