Argentina investigates union leader over property purchase

Argentine prosecutors are investigating María Soledad Calle, a union leader and La Cámpora activist, regarding the purchase of an apartment at San José 1111 in Buenos Aires. The property is located directly below the residence where former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is serving her sentence for the Vialidad case.

Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano is evaluating whether to incorporate this $190,000 real estate transaction into an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud involving funds from the Unión Obrera Metalúrgica (UOM). The investigation focuses on potential embezzlement, illicit association, and money laundering. Specifically, authorities are scrutinizing a 2023 agreement with the company Unión de Seccionales Metalúrgicas (USEM), which is linked to Calle and was tasked with managing union funds.

Calle, a former councilwoman from Campana with close ties to the Kirchnerist movement, also holds an international leadership role as president of a metalworkers' union federation for Latin America and the Caribbean. Legal representatives for complainants have requested that Federal Judge Julián Ercolini authorize a search of the San José 1111 property.