An appeals court on Friday confirmed an order to seize assets worth nearly US$500 million from former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and other individuals convicted in the ‘Vialidad’ corruption case.
The move is part of a court-led effort to recover public funds deemed to have been misappropriated by the veteran Peronist leader.
Fernandez de Kirchner, 73, began serving a six-year sentence under house arrest in June 2025 and has been barred from holding public office after being found guilty of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the state in the awarding of public works contracts.
The ‘Vialidad’ case covers the periods of Fernández de Kirchner’s presidency (2007–2015) as well as that of her husband, Néstor Kirchner (2003–2007), who died in 2010.
Fernández de Kirchner had appealed the part of the ruling ordering the seizure of assets, as did the other convicted parties.
However, Chamber IV of the Federal Criminal Cassation Court rejected that request and upheld the confiscation ordered in the original sentence, according to the ruling delivered last Friday.
The decision forms part of a broader process to enforce the repayment of sums established in the case, which have been updated over time and prompted the execution of assets belonging to those convicted.
The ruling – signed by judges Gustavo Hornos, Mariano Borinsky and Diego Barroetaveña – orders the advance of asset enforcement against Fernández de Kirchner, her children Máximo and Florencia, and other defendants in order to cover the amount the court says must be returned to the state.
The decision makes final the order to confiscate one of the ex-president’s properties in the southern province of Santa Cruz, along with around 20 assets linked to her and her children, many of which were transferred to them in 2016. It also confirms the seizure of more than 80 properties tied to allied businessman Lázaro Báez and his companies.
The defence strategy had sought to protect the assets on the grounds that their connection to the offence had not been “duly established” – in other words, that it had not been proven they were acquired using illicit funds.
Lawyers also argued that several of the assets attributed to Máximo and Florencia Kirchner had been inherited from their father or were acquired prior to the period under investigation.
“This ruling raises serious legal concerns for me,” Gregorio Dalbón, one of Fernández de Kirchner’s lawyers, told AFP, adding that “the defence will appeal to the Supreme Court.”
The Cassation court “has ordered the seizure of assets inherited from Néstor Kirchner, a person who died before the trial and was never convicted. It has extended criminal effects to Máximo and Florencia Kirchner through that inheritance route. It has included properties with no proven direct traceability to the offence,” the lawyer argued.
Under the ruling, the seized assets will fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, which will oversee their administration and potential sale.
The Vialidad case found that public works contracts in Santa Cruz were systematically awarded to Báez, often with inflated prices and projects left incomplete or poorly executed, forming the basis of the corruption scheme cited by prosecutors.
Fernández de Kirchner is also facing another corruption trial related to the 2000s, in which she is accused of being part of a bribery and kickbacks scheme involving politicians and business figures tied to public works contracts.
According to the prosecution in that case – which involves a further 85 defendants and could extend beyond 2026 – Fernández de Kirchner was “the primary beneficiary” of a system that began during her husband’s Presidency between 2003 and 2007.
Properties
In its initial ruling, Federal Oral Court No. 2 set the total amount to be repaid through the auctioning of these assets at 684.99 billion pesos.
In this first round of enforcement, the former president and her heirs will lose jewels of their portfolio, such as the luxury Los Sauces Casa Patagónica hotel. This boutique complex, adjacent to the family residence in El Calafate, was at one point rented out for US$90,000 per month, generating millions in income for the family over the years.
The list of assets linked to the circle of Máximo and Florencia Kirchner also includes a complex of 11 flats built by Báez on Mitre Street in Río Gallegos, as well as other plots in Punta Soberana originating from land swaps with the businessman himself.
The courts determined that it is not necessary to prove the exact accounting trail of every peso stolen; it is sufficient to demonstrate a reasonable temporal overlap between the enrichment and the systematic fraud.
Báez will be the most affected by the asset disposals, losing 84 properties registered in his name. The former contractor, who amassed a vast real-estate fortune across the country, will have to hand over much of his Patagonian empire to comply with the ordered compensation.
Among the most famous properties he will lose is the so-called ‘Chacra 39.’ Located 15 minutes from the centre of Río Gallegos, the 14,250-square-metre estate includes barbecue areas, a floodlit football pitch, a state-of-the-art gym, hot tubs and even a greenhouse. For years, this exclusive site served as a favoured meeting point for the regular football matches of Néstor Kirchner.
The Cassation Court’s order also extended reclamation to a Patagonian estancia known as “Los Gurises,” along with dozens of houses, garages and plots spread across El Calafate and Río Gallegos.
The final destination of the recovered assets will be decided by the Supreme Court.
– TIMES/AFP/NA/PERFIL
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