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Techint manager admits to $1 million in payments to official
During the ongoing Cuadernos corruption trial in Argentina, Héctor Zabaleta, the former administrative manager of Techint, testified that he delivered cash payments totaling approximately one million dollars to former official Roberto Baratta.
Zabaleta stated under oath before Federal Oral Court 7 that the deliveries were made on orders from Luis Betnaza, Techint's former Director of Institutional Relations. The witness described the payments being handed over in the second basement of the Catalinas building, noting that the dates of these transactions align with the records found in the notebooks of former driver Oscar Centeno.
According to the testimony, Baratta pressured the company by demanding payments be made in U.S. dollars rather than pesos and allegedly threatened to cut gas supplies to Techint's plant in Campana. While the payments were part of the original corruption investigation, Zabaleta and Betnaza were acquitted in 2021 after a judge ruled the disbursements were intended for humanitarian purposes related to repatriating employees from Venezuela.
Entities
Héctor Zabaleta · Luis Betnaza · Oscar Centeno · Roberto Baratta · Techint
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 2 SOURCES] Techint executives Zabaleta and Betnaza were acquitted in 2021 after the court ruled the payments were for humanitarian reasons. m24digital.com · www.perfil.com
- [● 2 SOURCES] The total amount of the payments was approximately one million dollars. www.mejorinformado.com · m24digital.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Techint executives allegedly made eight payments to the governments of Néstor and Cristina Kirchner. www.perfil.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Baratta allegedly threatened to cut gas supplies to Techint's Campana plant to pressure the company. m24digital.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Roberto Baratta allegedly demanded that payments be made in U.S. dollars. m24digital.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] Héctor Zabaleta testified that he delivered cash payments to former official Roberto Baratta. www.mejorinformado.com · m24digital.com · www.perfil.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Payments were delivered in the second basement of the Catalinas building. m24digital.com