One million euros in the spotlight: official documents reveal a possible case of corruption in an Army purchase during Taiana's administration
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An investigation conducted by La Derecha Diario and based on official documents from Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH reveals an alleged multimillion-euro overpricing in the purchase of a reconnaissance aircraft for the Argentine Army during the administration of Jorge Taiana as Minister of Defense.
The documents show that the Diamond DA62 MPP "SurveyStar" aircraft, acquired in 2022, was paid for at more than one million euros above its original value, without any technical, equipment, or support changes to justify the difference.
Aeronave Diamond
An unexplained price jump: 6.7 million vs. 7.8 million euros
The analysis of the quotes issued by the Austrian company itself shows a 15.73% increase in just thirteen months, between September 2021 and October 2022.
Initial quote (09/27/2021): EUR 6,739,573.67
Final quote (10/11/2022): EUR 7,800,000.00
Both offers include the same "SurveyStar" configuration, the same optical and laser sensors (Riegl VQ-780ii and Vexcel UltraCam camera), identical maintenance and training packages, and even the same optional technical support for two years.
El monto original del avión.
There was no contract extension, nor incorporation of new systems. Even so, the Argentine State ended up paying more than one million additional euros, equivalent to about USD 1,100,000, a figure that highlights the disproportion and fuels suspicions of corruption and kickbacks.
El monto final que pagó la gestión de Taiana.
The maneuver: direct contracting, advance payment, and political control
File EX-2022-41465894 details that the operation was carried out under the figure of "Direct Contracting by Exclusivity", a legal mechanism used when the supplier is unique, but which in practice eliminates price competition and allows the bidder to impose conditions without counterbalance.
In this case, the contract also included a 100% advance payment of the total amount, in euros and before receiving the aircraft, which transferred all the risk to the Argentine State. The scheduled delivery could take up to 600 days.
La contratación directa y el monto final que se pagó por la aeronave
These decisions —signed and supervised during Taiana's administration— weakened internal control mechanisms and opened the door to a possible kickback or overbilling scheme.
Taiana, the political official responsible for the overpricing
During the period in which the purchase was completed, Jorge Taiana headed the Ministry of Defense and was in charge of approving major Army contracts. The administrative and political responsibility for the case falls directly on him, since the file was managed under his signature and supervision.
The investment project was listed under code BAPIN 135445, with the objective of acquiring five Diamond aircraft and associated equipment, for a total investment of 4,198 million pesos.
However, instead of improving transparency, Taiana's administration consolidated a closed procedure, without public audit, with overpricing and advance payments that benefited a foreign supplier without technical justification.
Paleo and the ties with the Army
In the background appears Juan Martín Paleo, who at the time served as Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces and is now a candidate for senator in the City of Buenos Aires on Ricardo López Murphy's list. Paleo had operational responsibility for the execution of the program, and his signature appears on the project's monitoring documents.
Juan Martín Paleo, candidato a senador en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires en la lista de Ricardo López Murphy.
The Army Aviation Command also intervened, under the direction of Brigadier General Alexis Iván Dubowik, current official in Axel Kicillof's Buenos Aires administration.
The political-military triangle formed by Taiana, Paleo, and Dubowik was key to executing an opaque purchase that today reveals a pattern of negligence, overpricing, and lack of accountability.
A million euros that someone must explain
The increase of more than €1,060,000 is not supported by technical documents, international inflation, or equipment improvements.
For this reason, defense sector analysts consulted by La Derecha Diario consider that this could constitute a case of fraudulent administration or negotiations incompatible with public office.
Taiana debe dar explicaciones
Meanwhile, while other countries acquire the same aircraft model for values close to six and a half million euros, Argentina, under Taiana's leadership, ended up paying almost 16% more for a unit without modifications.
