Argentina’s president Javier Milei is confronting his administration’s most serious alleged corruption scandal—linked to his sister, Karina, a key figure in his government—just weeks before crucial legislative elections.
For over a week, national attention has been focused on leaked audio recordings featuring a former official discussing alleged bribery tied to contracts for disability medication.
In the recordings, Diego Spagnuolo, the ex-head of the National Disability Agency and a former lawyer for Milei, claimed that the president’s sister allegedly received 3% from each deal.
Spagnuolo initially denied his involvement but later admitted it, leading to his dismissal amid the uproar.
After days of silence, Milei appeared at a campaign rally alongside his sister, urging supporters to give her a “big ovation.”
Following a period where Milei’s popularity soared internationally, political analysts in Argentina now see this scandal as his government’s most damaging crisis yet.
“It’s the biggest scandal his administration has faced,” said Juan Courel, a political communication expert at Alaska Comunicación.
The controversy began on 19 August when the streaming platform Carnaval released the first recordings, the origin of which remains unclear.
In the audio, Spagnuolo alleged that the scheme operated through the pharmaceutical company Suizo Argentina, which reportedly demanded 8% kickbacks from firms seeking government contracts.
The operation is said to have generated between $500,000 and $800,000 monthly in bribes, with Karina Milei—appointed as secretary general of the presidency after her brother abolished a rule barring relatives from public office—allegedly receiving 3%.
Spagnuolo also claimed he had warned Milei: “Javier, you know they are stealing, that your sister is stealing.”
As the scandal grew, lawyer Gregorio Dalbón filed a criminal complaint against Milei, Karina, Spagnuolo, and others implicated in the recordings. Dalbón previously represented former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Milei’s political rival, who was barred from office and placed under house arrest in June following a corruption conviction.
Dalbón called the allegations “the greatest corruption scandal since democracy was restored in 1983,” adding, “I don’t rule out that this could be this government’s Watergate.”
A federal judge launched an investigation, with police raiding multiple locations, including the home of a Suizo Argentina owner, where $266,000 in cash was seized.
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