The businessman must serve a 10-year prison sentence for money laundering
This ruling could become a key precedent for the analysis the Court must conduct in the “Vialidad” case, in which the former president Cristina Kirchner was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption. A possible confirmation of that sentence before August could disqualify her from running as a candidate for national deputy.
In the K Money Trail case file, the submissions to the Court were related to the investigation into Lázaro Báez and a network of individuals and companies linked to Grupo Austral, accused of participating in money laundering schemes. Both the Oral Court and Chamber IV of the Criminal Cassation Court concluded that the origin of the funds involved stemmed from crimes such as fraud against the State or tax evasion.
This way, the convictions of Lázaro Báez and others involved in the case remain final. Báez must serve 10 years in prison; Martín Báez 6 years and 6 months; Leonardo Fariña 3 years and 6 months; both Daniel Pérez Gadín and Jorge Chueco 6 years; Julio Mendoza 5 years; and Fabián Rossi, Cesar Fernández, and Juan De Rasis 4 years and 6 months in prison.
In addition, the forfeiture of 54,872,866.69 US dollars, originating from money laundering carried out between 2010 and 2013, was ordered, and fines were imposed on the companies linked to the case.
In a resolution with significant political and judicial repercussions, the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the convictions in the case known as the "K Money Trail," by rejecting, by majority, the appeals filed by those convicted, including businessman Lázaro Báez.
To complete the ruling, it was necessary to appoint two substitute judges: Mariano Lozano and Ramón Luis González, who signed alongside judges Horacio Rosatti and Ricardo Lorenzetti. The only dissenting vote was that of magistrate Carlos Rosenkrantz.
Following this decision, Federal Oral Court No. 4, which presided over the trial phase, must determine which sentences must be served effectively and, if applicable, issue the corresponding arrest warrants. Báez, meanwhile, is already under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor.
