A judicial investigation into a massive corruption scheme at the National Disability Agency (ANDIS) has revealed an articulated network of companies, pharmacies, laboratories, and intermediaries that, under the operational command of Miguel Ángel Calvete, functioned as a parallel circuit for medication supply, price gouging, and illegal payments.
The investigation reconstructs a mechanism that transformed the agency into what prosecutors defined as a "permanent window for million-dollar directed payments," operated from public offices but sustained by a private conglomerate that maximized benefits through cartelization, inflated billing, and systematic kickbacks.
Calvete, detained since August, not only had direct contact with key ANDIS officials—including former director Diego Spagnuolo—but also controlled a business web that included companies in his own name, in the name of associates, or with indirect participation.
One of the most exposed companies in the case is Droguería Suizo Argentina, directed by brothers Emmanuel and Jonathan Kovalivker. The firm, a subsidiary of an Austrian leader in hearing implants, was at the center of a particularly serious episode.
The role of its Director of Corporate Affairs, Sebastián Nuner Uner, is critical: the prosecution attributes to him direct intervention in coordinating quotes and manipulating prices in collusion with other pharmacies.
The case file also includes notebooks where Calvete allegedly recorded payments linked to firms such as Artrobone Ortopedia, Cirugía Alemana, Expo Trauma, Farma Salud, Laboratorios Sagués, Medical Implants, Ortopedia Bernat, and Prolite Orthopedics.
The investigation maintains that these companies paid inflated prices, with the surplus being redistributed as alleged bribes among agency officials.
The scheme also has an explosive political dimension: in audios attributed to Spagnuolo, Eduardo "Lule" Menem, Martín Menem, and Karina Milei are mentioned as alleged beneficiaries of kickbacks in the operation.
The progress of the case reveals an ecosystem of coordinated interests whose scope is still being uncovered.
According to chats between Calvete and its owner, Humberto Gabriel Maone, both discussed how to "get between 1600 and 1700 sticks," which gives a dimension of the economic volume moved by the structure.
The Justice system established that several of these firms maintained direct communications with Calvete, according to WhatsApp records incorporated into the case.
A particularly serious chapter involves MED-EL Latinoamérica S.R.L.
Achabahian, former head of a key area of ANDIS in previous administrations, maintained influence over Daniel Garbellini, the official responsible for deciding which medications were purchased, reinforcing the irregular operation.
To these firms were added New Farma S.A. and Floresta S.A., which also dominated the supply of hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other high-cost supplies.
