In a major judicial action against corruption, businessman Lázaro Báez faces the seizure and auction of a gigantic fortune accumulated during his close ties with the Kirchner administrations.
The federal judiciary proceeded with the enforcement of assets after the conviction in the Vialidad case was confirmed, which also involves the corrupt former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and other former officials, after the ten-business-day period granted to the convicted individuals to return the money stolen from the State expired.
According to official data, 174 properties belonging to Báez were seized, distributed throughout the country: 37 properties in the City of Buenos Aires, 4 in the province of Buenos Aires, 132 in Santa Cruz, and one in Chubut.
Propiedades de Lázaro Báez.
These properties are part of a business network that includes companies such as Austral Construcciones, Loscalzo y Del Curto SRL, and Gotti S.A., all under scrutiny for allegedly receiving public works contracts that were steered in their favor for more than a decade.
Among the seized assets are historic and highly symbolic ranches, such as Cruz Aike, Río Olnie, and Los Gurises, many of which were raided by the judiciary in operations where excavations were even carried out due to suspicions that they could have been used to hide illicit money.
The judicial offensive also extends to the Kirchner family and their companies: Los Sauces S.A., Hotesur S.A., and COMA S.A. are under enforcement, in parallel with a total of 26 properties belonging to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, including properties in Recoleta, Puerto Madero, El Calafate, and Río Gallegos.
Lázaro Báez.
The case file also involves Florencia Kirchner, daughter of the corrupt former president, who kept around 6 million dollars in cash in a safe deposit box, the origin of which still has not been justified before the judiciary. That amount will also be seized for the process of returning funds to the State, as part of the enforcement of the final sentence issued by Federal Oral Court No. 2.
The judiciary aims to recover an estimated total of 500 million dollars, corresponding to the money that was allegedly diverted through the steering of public works contracts. If the funds are not returned voluntarily, a deadline that expired on June 25, the seized assets will be auctioned to the highest bidder in public auctions already underway.
