News of scandal

The craft of graft

Yesterdat 08:42 The paradox of corruption is that it is such an ingrained everyday phenomenon at many levels that it explodes into big news relatively infrequently.

by Michael Soltys

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Lázaro Báez gets 12 years, but no immediate return to jail

Yesterdat 08:28 Iconic Kirchnerite businessman sentenced to more than a decade behind bars for money-laundering an estimated US$55 million between 2010 and 2013.

THE WEEK

There's no jab against ego tripping

Yesterdat 07:29 Cutting corners, contacting cronies for dodgy favours and jumping lines is almost a national sport in Argentina.

by Martín Gambarotta

MEET THE (NEW) MINISTER

Carla Vizzotti takes up reins of Health Ministry

Yesterdat 07:21 Former health access secretary, 48, is a vaccine specialist best known for being the public face of the government’s daily coronavirus briefings.

VIP VACCINE SCANDAL

Government struggles to contain ‘VIP vaccine’ scandal

Yesterdat 07:06 Opposition leaders pile on pressure over “vaccinations of privilege,” accusing ruling Peronist coalition of seeking to “vaccinate a Kirchnerite oligarchy.”

'BOMBA ARGENTINA'

Report: 'Argentine Firecracker' Fanne Foxe dead at 84

24-02-2021 16:35 Fanne Foxe, an exotic dancer known as the "Argentine Firecracker" who was at the centre of one of the US capital's most notorious sex scandals, has died aged 84.

'VIP vaccination' scandal

President fights back as 'VIP vaccine' scandal grows

23-02-2021 14:09 Peronist leader says that while he rejects the “irregular” vaccinations, it had already cost the resignation of his health minister Ginés González García and did not amount to a crime.

VIP VACCINE SCANDAL

Government releases list of vaccine recipients as scandal grows

22-02-2021 23:38 Pressure grows on Alberto Fernández administration over ‘VIP vaccination’ scandal. Casa Rosada releases a list of Peronist leaders, officials and their family members who received Sputnik jab.

VIP VACCINE SCANDAL

Survey: 61% distrust government’s Covid-19 vaccination plan

22-02-2021 17:15 Following the controversial "VIP Vaccination" scandal that surfaced at the tail-end of last week, a new Management & Fit survey finds that six out of ten people lack confidence in government's vaccine plan.

VIP VACCINE SCANDAL

Fernández slams 'unforgivable' vaccine line-jump scandal

22-02-2021 13:09 President Alberto Fernández, delivering his first comments on the so-called 'VIP vaccination' scandal, said Sunday that the actions of his health minister had been "unforgivable."

VIP VACCINE SCANDAL

Vizzotti sworn in as health minister amid 'VIP vaccine' scandal

21-02-2021 08:40 Carla Vizzotti sworn in as Argentina's new health minister, following the resignation of her predecessor Ginés González García.

VIP VACCINE SCANDAL

VIP vaccine scandal: President asks health minister to resign

19-02-2021 20:56 President Alberto Fernández asks Health Minister Ginés González García to resign post amid claims government supporters exploited contacts to jump vaccination queue.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Two Peruvian top officials resign amid Covid-19 vaccine scandal

15-02-2021 16:15 Public resentment over officials receiving vaccinations — despite there being no date for a wider immunisation drive — has seen at least two government officials resign.

ACCUSED OF WRONGDOING

Domestic worker scandal puts pressure on INADI chief Donda

05-01-2021 23:10 Victoria Donda, head of the government’s anti-discrimination agency INADI, faces allegations she irregularly employed a maid for several years and then sought to solve problem by offering her employee a social plan or a state job.

RUGBY

Battling Pumas put scandal to one side as they claim draw with Australia

06-12-2020 17:12 Pumas play out 16-16 draw with Wallabies, ensuring Argentina finishes second in Tri Nations tournament.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Peru taps third president in less than a week to fill power vacuum

17-11-2020 08:07 Lawmakers on Monday voted in Francisco Sagasti, an elder-statesman legislator with extensive consulting experience at home and abroad to lead a new government by electing him head of congress and new president.

PERUVIAN POLITICAL CRISIS

Peru's Congress to retry president for impeachment

03-11-2020 10:45 Peru's Congress on Monday voted to try again to impeach President Martín Vizcarra for alleged "moral incapacity" after he survived a first attempt weeks ago.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope meets with Australian cardinal acquitted of child abuse charges

12-10-2020 12:35 Pope Francis met Monday with Australian Cardinal George Pell for the first time since he was jailed – and then acquitted – on child sex abuse charges.

SCANDAL IN CONGRESS

Lawmaker resigns post amid breast-kissing scandal

26-09-2020 09:05 Frente de Todos lawmaker Juan Emilio Ameri dramatically suspended from Congress after kissing his partner’s breast during a remote videoconference session with fellow legislators. Hours later, he resigned his post.

SCANDAL IN CONGRESS

Lawmaker suspended after kissing partner’s breast during Congress session

24-09-2020 23:24 Salta lawmaker Juan Emilio Ameri was dramatically suspended from Congress on Thursday night after he kissing his partner’s breast during a remote videoconference session with fellow legislators.

Political turmoil in Peru

Peru police search homes of officials in impeachment case

13-09-2020 09:26 Police in Peru raid homes of key government officials as part of an investigation into allegations President Martín Vizcarra obstructed a graft probe.

Political turmoil in Peru

Peru in renewed political turmoil as Vizcarra faces impeachment

13-09-2020 09:16 Some of Peru's lawmakers are calling for the dismissal of President Martín Vizcarra based on audios in which he is heard coaching two officials close to him for a congressional investigation into corruption.

Court ruling

Ecuador upholds graft sentence for former president Rafael Correa

08-09-2020 09:16 Ecuadorean court confirms former president's eight-year prison term for corruption, blocking his vice-presidency run in next year's elections and landing him a lifetime disqualification from future ballots.

Morales in exile

Bolivia probes alleged Morales affair with minor

21-08-2020 16:59 The woman, now age 19 and identified by Deputy Minister Guido Melgar only by the initials N.M., was reported to be a minor when the relationship began.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Baseless Wayfair child-trafficking theory spreads online

17-07-2020 00:24 A new conspiracy theory is sweeping the globe – self-proclaimed Internet sleuths are claiming that US retail giant Wayfair is selling trafficked children via its website.

ILLEGAL ESPIONAGE CLAIMS

22 arrests in illegal espionage probe, including ex-Macri official

02-07-2020 02:47 Susana Martinengo, co-ordinator of presidential documentation during the 2015-2019 Macri presidency, and 21 others detained on charges of illegal espionage against various political leaders.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Officials in Concordia asked to resign after breaking rules to attend birthday party

16-06-2020 14:06 Concordia's Mayor Alfredo Francolini asks for resignation of two government officials after images emerge of them attending a birthday party. They may face criminal action for breaking quarantine restrictions.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Argentine bishop resumes work in Holy See as Vatican abuse probe wraps

15-06-2020 15:28 Vatican spokesman confirms Archbishop Gustavo Zanchetta has resumed work in Holy See, but claims it in no way interferes with investigations probing alleged sexual abuse.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Social policy collides with scandal

11-04-2020 10:42 Born in the Greater Buenos Aires district of Morón, Social Development Minister Daniel Fernando Arroyo has made social policy his exclusive focus since starting his university studies (UBA) more than three decades ago.

by Michael Soltys

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Cardinal Pell lawyers claim child sex conviction is 'wrong' in appeal

11-03-2020 12:48 Lawyers for disgraced cardinal claimed the senior cleric's conviction for child sex abuse was based on "improbabilities", as they launched a last-ditch appeal in Australia's top court on Wednesday.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

French cardinal exits over failure to report alleged sex abuser

06-03-2020 13:34 The Pope has accepted the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, whose conviction for shielding an alleged child-molesting priest was overturned on appeal last month.

ABUSE SCANDAL

Court clears French cardinal who failed to report abusive priest

30-01-2020 17:00 Court in Lyon rules Cardinal Philippe Barbarin should not be held criminally liable for his lack of action over behavior of Priest Preynat, who had allegedly abused dozen of boys scouts during the 1980s and the 1990s.

Church Sex Abuse Scandal

Pope Francis strips 'pontificial secrecy' from abuse-related cases in the Church

17-12-2019 13:55 While documentation from the Church's in-house legal proceedings will still not become public, the reform removes any excuse to not cooperate with legitimate legal requests from prosecutors, police or other civil authorities.

Church Sex Abuse Scandal

Vatican still refusing to expel priests condemned in Próvolo case

27-11-2019 12:41 Convictions and sentencing of two priests for rape and sexual abuse of minors reignites controversy around Holy See's protection of members of the Catholic Church facing such allegations, many of whom continue to be supported by the institution.

by Mariana Sarramea

TUCUMÁN SENATOR

Alperovich requests leave of absence from Senate after abuse allegations

26-11-2019 16:02 Senator José Alperovich continues to deny all charges of sexual abuse against him, but requests leave of absence, saying he needs time to ‘repair his honour.’

PRIME MINISTER

Israel’s Netanyahu charged in corruption cases

21-11-2019 15:15 Israel's attorney general charged Netanyahu with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three different scandals. This is unprecedented, marking the first time a sitting prime minister has been charged with a crime.

RELIGION IN ARGENTINA

Catholicism on the decline in Argentina, says CONICET study

20-11-2019 23:50 Almost 63% of Argentines identify as Catholics today, compared to 76.5% in 2008.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis' bodyguard resigns over leak scandal

14-10-2019 11:50 Argentine pontiff said to be furious over publication of internal police notice which featured the photographs of five Vatican employees – including two senior figures – targeted in a probe reportedly into a real estate deal.

FIFA CORRUPTION SCANDAL

FIFA bans Uruguayan former vice-president for life for taking bribes

02-10-2019 13:42 FIFA says its ethics committee found Eugenio Figueredo guilty of taking bribes in 2004 and 2015 linked to commercial deals for South American competitions.

JORGE NEWBERY

Mexico says businessman Carlos Ahumada arrested in Argentina

19-08-2019 07:59 Mexican federal prosecutors said Friday that authorities in Argentina acting on Mexico's request had detained Mexican-Argentine businessman Carlos Ahumada, who was tied to political scandals a decade ago and is sought on tax evasion charges.

BLOOMBERG

Data-rigging scandal rocks salmon-farming industry in Patagonia

01-08-2019 09:28 Company Nova Austral pushes out its top executive as bonds sank amid misreporting claims. Scandal is latest to hit Chile’s farm-raised salmon industry.

Republican Challenger

Sanford mulls 2020 bid, but observers question his motives

17-07-2019 15:16 Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor and congressman earned nationwide ridicule in 2009 after claiming he was "hiking the Appalachian Trail" when he was really spending time with his Argentine mistress.

G20

Bolsonaro military escort arrested in Spain on possession of 39kg of cocaine

26-06-2019 15:34 President Jair Bolsonaro was en route to Osaka, Japan on Wednesday morning for the G20 summit, following the arrest Tuesday of a military escort in his entourage.

SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

Pope: Argentine bishop accused of abuse is now facing Vatican trial

28-05-2019 17:27 Pontiff says he received the results of a preliminary investigation into Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta two weeks ago and ordered the case be handed over for trial by a Church tribunal.