Cristina Kirchner has not had a cent seized, yet the state may owe her lawyers $10 million

Argentina’s courts have yet to seize a single peso from Cristina Kirchner over the $587 million she owes under her corruption conviction in the Vialidad case. Yet the state may now have to pay almost $10 million to the lawyers who defended her and the other defendants.

The contradiction stems from the collapse of a separate civil lawsuit. National Highway Administration failed to pursue its claim, and Chamber III of the Federal Civil and Commercial Court ruled that the proceedings had expired because the state did not move them forward. The court ended the case and calculated legal fees for the lawyers who prevailed.

National Highway Administration made a final attempt to avoid payment by filing a complaint with the Supreme Court. The court must decide whether to confirm that the state allowed the civil case to lapse or overturn the decision.

The state’s inactivity began under the government of Alberto Fernández and became definitive between March 17 and April 7, 2025, after Javier Milei had taken office. On July 14, Chamber III suspended the fee-setting process until the Supreme Court rules.

The lawyers representing both convicted and acquitted officials have asked to collect their fees. Cristina Kirchner’s lawyers, Luis Goldín and Fernando Muriel, accused the court of “denial of justice” and asked the Supreme Court to annul the chamber’s decision freezing the fee determinations. They are seeking payment for 12 lawyers, totaling about 13.614 billion pesos, or nearly $10 million. Their filing argues that proceedings should not be halted while the Supreme Court has not accepted the related complaint.

“

denial of justice