Disability graft probe: former agency head refuses to answer prosecutor questions

The former head of Argentina’s National Disability Agency (ANDIS), Diego Spagnuolo, did not answer questions from the judge or prosecutor during his defendant’s statement in a court investigation into alleged corruption at the agency.  Spagnuolo stands accused of coordinating a corruption ring whereby drug companies paid bribes to senior government officials including the president’s sister in exchange for contracts with the agency. Spagnoulo was fired from his post after a series of audio recordings were leaked that appear to show him accusing President Javier Milei’s sister and Secretary General, Karina Milei, of taking bribes for the contracts. Federal prosecutor Franco Picardi is investigating whether the alleged events at the agency amount to crimes including steering of purchases, embezzlement, and corruption. He accused Spagnuolo of “key actions and omissions that were fundamental to the operation of the criminal scheme.”  After Wednesday’s judicial proceedings at a Buenos Aires court, Spanguolo’s lawyer, Mauricio D’Alessandro, said that the former official made a brief statement to defend his innocence, denying all the court’s charges against him, and refused to answer questions. D’Alessandro denied that Spagnuolo had arranged payments at the agency, instead claiming that the recordings were deepfakes edited with AI. Another key figure in the case is Miguel Ángel Calvete, Spagnuolo’s right-hand man. The indictment details Calvete’s links to laboratories and drugstores and describes how he wielded influence at the ANDIS, despite not holding a position there. Calvete is accused of laundering the money allegedly obtained from illegal maneuvers at ANDIS. Calvete is currently in custody after being convicted of charging sex workers to operate in a series of properties he managed. The recordings of the man alleged to be Spagnuolo were first published in August by journalists Mauro Federico and Ivy Cángaro. As well as naming government officials including Karina Milei and her top assistant, Eduardo “Lule” Menem, the man accuses drug company Suizo Argentina of gathering bribes paid by other companies. Spagnuolo and three Suizo Argentina executives were barred from leaving the country following the accusations. The ANDIS scandal was the second major scandal of Milei’s presidency, following the $LIBRA cryptocurrency debacle in February. It hit particularly close to home because Spagnuolo was also the president’s lawyer and the men were personal friends. The issue was a political embarrassment for the Milei government, surfacing at a moment when the president was engaged in a tussle with Argentina’s Congress over disability funding, as lawmakers sought to overturn his block on a law increasing funding — a move the president was claiming the country couldn’t afford.