Buenos Aires, Dec 2 (NA) — The Oral Federal Court No. 7 held the second week of hearings in the 'Cuadernos' case on Tuesday. The session was interrupted for over three hours after a request by former Planning Minister Julio De Vido to recuse the judges was rejected. Following De Vido's presentation, a defendant in the mega-case alongside the former president and 85 other accused individuals, Judges Enrique Méndez Signori, Fernando Canero, and Germán Castilli decided to recess to review the submission, which lasted more than three and a half hours, judicial sources informed the Argentine News Agency. Subsequently, the magistrates rejected De Vido's motion in limine, although the procedure consumed most of the day. Juncal and Uruguay: the epicenter of the 87 bags described by Oscar Centeno The OFC 7 must complete the reading of the chapter known as 'La Camarita' in subsequent hearings, which investigates the alleged cartelization of public road works between 2003 and 2015. 'La Camarita' is a separate proceeding from the main file, focused exclusively on public road works. It will seek to determine the existence of alleged illicit agreements between members of the Argentine Chamber of Road Companies, who are said to have divided tenders and established kickbacks in a coordinated manner. In this segment, 51 businessmen are accused of active bribery, including Carlos Wagner, Angelo Calcaterra, Hugo Dragonetti, Aldo Roggio, and José Cartellone. Testimonies of the 'collaborators' The testimonies of José López, Wagner, and Ernesto Clarens, considered crucial by the prosecution, describe a system of 3% to 5% kickbacks that allegedly functioned as a source of revenue for officials from the Planning and National Roads departments. In his accusation, Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli stated that the scheme operated through 'prior agreements between companies' that defined tender winners, overpricing, and percentages destined for officials. What's next The OFC 7 must decide whether to allow a summer judicial recess to hold hearings or, conversely, maintain the judicial break and resume in February. It will also decide whether to accept the move to the AMIA Auditorium on Comodoro Py, a venue with a capacity for almost 200 people whose availability was offered by the Chamber of Cassation starting December 10. The interrogations, scheduled for next year, will be the first moment of full in-person attendance in the process.
