AFIP accountants help reconstruct bribe route in 'Cuadernos' trial

The trial over the "Cuadernos de las Coimas" (Notebooks of Bribes) has entered a new phase with the testimony of two AFIP (Argentina's Federal Administration of Public Revenue) accountants. Their statements aim to reconstruct the flow of money from companies investigated for corruption, seeking to determine if funds ended up with officials during the Kirchner administration.

Supervisor Fernando Lerendegui and inspector Candela Marcellini presented reports they prepared for the court concerning Metrovías and a consortium involving IECSA SA and JCR SA. This consortium was contracted for a project on Route 9. Lerendegui highlighted a billing of over 11 million pesos related to Metrovías, involving two suppliers flagged in a database of suspicious taxpayers.

Marcellini, who investigated large taxpayers, detailed several operations by companies linked to Angelo Calcaterra. She pointed to a June 2009 transaction where IECSA purchased US$600,000, withdrawn in cash by Juan Carlos Palacios and not subsequently registered as company holdings. A similar operation by Creaurban SA, also linked to Calcaterra, involved US$380,000, also withdrawn by Palacios.

These details are significant as they potentially align with the mechanism described by businessman Carlos Wagner, a cooperating witness. Wagner testified that companies like IECSA were part of a system that allocated public works contracts, requiring them to pay officials between 10% and 20% of the contract value. The accountants' findings, such as a UTE led by IECSA receiving a large advance payment in October 2008 and subsequently withdrawing approximately 10% of that amount in cash, help corroborate the alleged circuit of money and potential bribery payments.