The Federal Chamber of Criminal Appeals declared inadmissible a recourse filed by the defense of Rosario federal judge Gastón Salmain. The ruling confirms that the local Federal Chamber's magistrates will continue to intervene in the case in which he is investigated for alleged bribes linked to the transfer of 10 million dollars out of the country. The Chamber II of the highest criminal court, composed of judges Guillermo J. Yacobucci, Angela E. Ledesma, and Alejandro W. Slokar, rejected the recusal motion against judges Elida Isabel Vidali and Silvina María Andalaf Casiello, members of the Federal Appeals Court of Rosario. In this way, the court ratified that both magistrates will continue to oversee the criminal investigation against Salmain, who serves as a first-instance federal judge in that jurisdiction. The magistrate was prosecuted at the end of last year for the crimes of aggravated passive bribery, malfeasance, and failure to perform official duties. According to the judicial investigation, Salmain allegedly agreed with a financier and a notary to manipulate an amparo (a type of legal remedy) to allow the 'Attila' trust to transfer 10 million dollars abroad during the currency control period. The case is supported, among other evidence, by the testimony of collaborating accused Fernando Whpei, who described an alleged 'spurious pact' aimed at manipulating judicial files. According to his testimony, meetings were held in the judge's office to analyze the feasibility of the lawsuit before its filing, a situation that was corroborated by tracing cell phone antennas that located those involved in the vicinity of the courthouse on key dates, as the Argentine News Agency was able to learn. The investigation also mentions subsequent meetings at the Four Seasons Hotel and the Florida Garden bar in Buenos Aires City, where the cost of the judicial benefit was set, equivalent to 10% of the gap between the official and parallel dollar, with an illicit return estimated at around 200,000 dollars. To carry out the scheme, the prosecution alleges that the judge would have agreed to intervene in a case outside his jurisdiction and issued a precautionary measure despite warnings from the Central Bank, without demanding the minimum legal guarantees. Although he has been charged, is under preventive detention, and has a seizure of 200,000 dollars, Salmain remains at liberty due to the arrest immunity granted to him by his status as a federal judge, while the Council of the Magistrature handles the disciplinary files and evaluates his possible removal.
