Buenos Aires, November 25, 2025 – Total News Agency-TNA – The crisis unleashed by the ANDIS case continues to cause shocks in the Government and has already led to a new resignation at the Ministry of Economy.
Meanwhile, in the Government, concern is growing over the expansion of the case and its potential impact on other areas related to health, disability, and strategic public procurement. Cardini's resignation confirms that the scandal is no longer limited to the structure of the ANDIS, but is expanding to higher levels of the national administration, adding pressure to an investigation that promises more developments in the coming days.
Javier Cardini, Undersecretary of Productive Management and partner of the former National Director of Regional and Sectoral Development, Ornella Calvete, resigned after being directly implicated in the wiretaps and raids ordered by the Justice system as part of the investigation led by Federal Prosecutor Franco Picardi.
Cardini, who has maintained a personal relationship and cohabited with Calvete for years, was compromised not only by the personal closeness but also by the role both played within the structure of the Ministry of Economy, where, according to the prosecution, they operated in coordination in sensitive areas of budget allocation.
The raid carried out on September 12 in the apartment the couple occupies in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Telmo added an element of extreme gravity. For the investigators, the degree of coordination suggested by the intercepted messages shows a structure that operated with differentiated roles and contacts with State sectors in charge of approving or speeding up allocations.
One of the key elements for the prosecution was the message Calvete sent to her father on the day of the raid, warning him about the presence of police on the ground floor of the building. However, the accumulation of evidence and the public impact of the money discovery forced the Ministry to accept his resignation to avoid greater political wear and tear, especially in a context in which the ANDIS case has become one of the largest corruption files of the year.
The investigation continues to advance with new measures, including the patrimonial analysis of all those implicated and the financial trails that may link the amounts found to specific suppliers. On the seized devices, direct communications with Cardini related to file movements, inquiries about suppliers, and references to payments linked to the suspected programs are said to have been found.
Cardini initially tried to remain in his position, arguing that he was not formally charged. The discovery—one of the most significant in corruption cases in the last year—reinforced the suspicions of the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding a network of illicit payments linked to contracts and acquisitions of the ANDIS under the High-Cost and Low-Prevalence Benefits and Supplies (PACBI) system, a program that concentrates million-dollar purchases for highly complex surgical treatments and biological medicines for rare diseases.
According to the investigation led by Picardi, Calvete, the former director of the ANDIS Diego Spagnuolo, and another 14 officials would form an organization dedicated to manipulating tenders, favoring specific suppliers, and receiving kickbacks through intermediaries.
Cardini's departure adds to Calvete's, who was forced out a few days earlier after the discovery of a large sum of money without justification in their shared home. The fall of the now Undersecretary accelerated once it was confirmed that his name appeared repeatedly in the wiretaps and in the exchanges reviewed by investigators regarding the alleged kickback circuit and directed purchases at the National Disability Agency (ANDIS).
Federal agents found $700,000 in cash, a sum for which Calvete presented no patrimonial justification. That warning, interpreted as an attempt to obstruct justice, led to the seizure of his phone and other electronic devices, whose content has been analyzed since September.
