Roberto Baratta summoned to testify in Argentine illicit enrichment probe

Former Argentine official Roberto Baratta has been summoned to testify before Federal Judge Julián Ercolini on September 16 regarding allegations of illicit enrichment. The judicial summons follows the validation of an accounting expert report investigating Baratta’s assets accumulated during his tenure as Undersecretary of Coordination and Management Control between 2003 and 2015.

The investigation focuses on an allegedly unjustified increase in personal wealth, including the purchase of vehicles, garage spaces, and real estate. Specifically, authorities are examining a $70,000 cash purchase of a lot in the Mapuche Country Club, followed by a multi-million peso construction project.

In a related development within the ‘Cuadernos’ corruption case, Héctor Zabaleta, a former administrator at Techint, testified that he delivered cash packages to Baratta. Zabaleta stated that, acting on instructions from a company director, he delivered approximately one million dollars' worth of pesos in installments of 600,000 to 700,000 pesos each. These transactions reportedly took place in a basement garage to avoid detection, as Baratta allegedly wished to remain unseen.