Hotesur/Los Sauces: Fernández de Kirchner in dock for new corruption trial alongside son

Hotesur and Los Sauces are two corruption cases concerning alleged money-laundering through the Kirchner family’s hotel and property businesses. Prosecutors say the businesses helped receive, move and conceal money allegedly connected to public-works contracts. The cases matter because they involve a former president, her son and several prominent businessmen.

The combined proceedings concern Los Sauces SA, the family property company, and the family’s hotel operations. Prosecutors allege that properties, hotel rentals, loans and improvements were used to recycle funds of illicit origin. One property mentioned is the Buenos Aires apartment where Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is serving a separate sentence.

A criminal cassation court ordered the cases merged earlier this week. Federal Oral Court No. 5 is now hearing both matters together. The first hearing mainly involved reading the indictment, while a defence lawyer argued that the merger left too little preparation time. The court said it would proceed while allowing the required period to elapse.

The trial has 19 defendants altogether. The central defendants are former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her son Máximo Kirchner, a national deputy and the president of the family company Los Sauces SA. Their alleged roles are different: prosecutors identify Cristina as the alleged ring-leader and Máximo as an organiser.

Other defendants include businessmen Lázaro Báez, Cristóbal López and Fabián De Sousa, who prosecutors say benefited from public contracts and helped move or conceal money. Víctor Manzanares, the family’s former accountant, also attended the hearing and expressed deep remorse. The proceedings combine the Hotesur and Los Sauces cases.

It is Máximo’s first corruption trial and Cristina’s third. Defendants were allowed to attend remotely for the reading of charges, although the court president called that arrangement exceptional. They must appear in person when summoned for questioning. The trial is being overseen by Federal Oral Court No. 5.

Prosecutors allege that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner designed, executed and directed a scheme to recycle funds of illicit origin. They identify her as the alleged ring-leader. Her son Máximo Kirchner is accused of organising the alleged unlawful association and was president of the family property company Los Sauces SA.

The alleged mechanism involved properties made available to receive money from companies belonging to Lázaro Báez and Grupo Indalo, linked to Cristóbal López and Fabián De Sousa. Prosecutors say the money was transferred or concealed through hotel rentals, property purchases, loans and improvements to the family’s hotel establishments. Los Sauces acquired several properties, including the apartment at San José 1111.

The alleged scheme is said to have operated from May 2003 to December 2016. Lawyers for both Kirchners reject the allegations. They argue that the commercial transactions were legal, conducted through the banking system and declared to tax authorities. The trial will test those competing claims.

Prosecutors allege that the scheme began with public road-building contracts awarded to favoured businessmen. They say part of the money siphoned from the state was channelled back to Néstor Kirchner, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and their family. The alleged arrangement supposedly operated through connected officials, businesspeople and companies.

The indictment names Lázaro Báez, Cristóbal López and Fabián De Sousa among the businessmen involved. Prosecutors say companies belonging to Báez and Grupo Indalo made payments or carried out transactions involving the family’s businesses. These included hotel rentals, property purchases, loans and improvements to hotel establishments. The transactions allegedly transferred and concealed proceeds.

The alleged scheme ran from May 2003 to December 2016, covering both Néstor Kirchner’s presidency and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s presidencies. The defence rejects the accusations and says the transactions used the banking system and were declared to tax authorities. The trial will examine whether they were legitimate commercial dealings or part of a criminal scheme.

Judges oversee the trial, apply criminal procedure and rule on disputes. In this case, José Michilini, Fernando Machado Pelloni and Adriana Palliotti make up Federal Oral Court No. 5. Judge Michilini addressed the defence objection about preparation time and set the order for reading the charges.

Prosecutors present the alleged criminal case and explain the evidence supporting it. Diego Velasco is expected to summarise the allegations in the Hotesur case. The indictment describes the alleged roles of the defendants and the supposed movement of money through public contracts, hotels and properties.

Defence lawyers protect the accused, challenge the prosecution’s claims and raise procedural objections. One lawyer argued that merging the cases left too little time to prepare, because Hotesur had been scheduled for March 2027. The court said it would read Los Sauces charges first and continue in the following days, allowing the required period to elapse.

An acquittal means a court found that the prosecution had not established guilt under the applicable legal standard. In some legal systems, however, that decision can be reviewed by a higher court. If the higher court overturns it, the earlier result no longer ends the case, and further proceedings can follow.

That is what happened in this case according to the article. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Máximo Kirchner were acquitted in 2021. A higher court overturned that decision in 2023. Their earlier acquittal therefore did not prevent prosecutors from pursuing the combined Hotesur and Los Sauces proceedings.

The current trial is examining the allegations rather than treating the defendants as convicted. They deny wrongdoing through their lawyers, who say the transactions were legal and tax-declared. The court is now reading the charges and will later hear the prosecution, defence responses and other parts of the case before reaching a new decision.

Prosecutors say Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Máximo Kirchner could each face prison sentences of up to 10 years if convicted in this case. A conviction would follow a separate finding that they participated in the alleged money-laundering and unlawful-association scheme. The trial has not yet reached a verdict.

Cristina is already serving a six-year sentence under house arrest. That sentence began in June 2025 and arose from the separate Vialidad public-works corruption case, involving fraudulent administration in awarding public works contracts. Her conviction also bars her for life from holding public office, according to the article.

The Hotesur and Los Sauces trial therefore creates another legal threat, but it is a distinct proceeding. Its hearings have only begun, with the indictment still being read. The trial is scheduled to resume on Monday, October 26. Prosecutor Diego Velasco is expected to present the Hotesur allegations in the coming days.