Argentina's former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has been indicted on corruption charges after she allegedly took part in a bribery scandal that was set up by her late husband, former President Nestor Kirchner.
"During the government of Nestor Kirchner an illegal collection system was put into operation that continued during the presidency of his wife, Cristina Elisabet Fernández," federal judge Claudio Bonadio said in his indictment, The Guardian reported. The publication mentioned that the pair "were the ones who gave the directives and orders for the development of the maneuvers investigated, as well as the final beneficiaries of them."
Fernández is now a senator who has immunity from arrest. Bonadio has asked for the former president's impeachment, but it is unlikely that such a vote will be supported by her fellow senators.
"It is necessary to continue this investigation until we have completely clarified how these illegal payments were structured, at least in regards to the officials who were part of the former planning ministry and the entrepreneurs associated with them," the indictment continues, according to Reuters.
Dozens of former officials have become embroiled in the scandal, which began when Nestor Kirchner was president from 2003 to 2007. Fernández allegedly received bags of cash at her private home on 87 different occasions, while she was president of the country from 2007 to 2015. Her husband died of heart failure in 2010.
Fernández was allegedly accepting bribes from construction companies and giving away public works contracts in return. The scandal was made public in August after Argentinian newspaper La Nacion published notebooks that kept track of all the times that cash were delivered to the former president's home.
Police searched three of Fernández's properties following the notebooks' release. She complained about being "the first elected senator to be searched," and said that her one regret was "not having been intelligent or open enough to convince and persuade people that what we were doing—with its mistakes and successes—improved the lives of millions," according to the BBC.
Amado Boudou, who was Argentina's vice president and economy minister under Fernández, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison on corruption charges. The Fourth Federal Tribunal in Buenos Aires ruled on Tuesday that Boudou helped a money printing company exit bankruptcy in exchange for an equity stake while he was in office eight years ago.
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