Justice Court confirms prison sentence for ex-President Kirchner

An Argentinian court has confirmed Cristina Kirchner's conviction for embezzling public funds. The former president plans to appeal again.

An Argentine court has upheld the six-year prison sentence and lifetime ban from public office for former president Cristina Kirchner. She was originally convicted of embezzling public funds in 2022, to which she appealed.

The Federal Criminal Chamber confirmed the verdict, as reported by the newspaper "La Nacion". Kirchner plans to appeal this decision again to the Supreme Court. She will remain at large until a final verdict is reached.

During her terms in office as president from 2007 to 2015, she and her late husband Néstor Kirchner, who was president from 2003 to 2007, are alleged to have awarded public contracts to a building contractor friend of theirs without putting them out to tender. According to the indictment, some of the inflated construction costs flowed back to the couple, which is said to have cost the state around one billion US dollars. Kirchner has always denied the allegations and accused the judiciary of political motives.

Investigations into further allegations

Kirchner is both a popular and controversial figure in Argentina. She served as Vice President under former President Alberto Fernández and was considered an influential force in Buenos Aires politics. She is still under investigation for money laundering and corruption.

The current President of Argentina, Javier Milei, had already sharply criticized Kirchner's camp during his election campaign. After the verdict, he said via Platform X: "Today we can confirm without any doubt that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is guilty of corruption."

SDA