Judicial sources indicate that the asset recovery operation aims to set a precedent in the fight against structural corruption in Argentina.
Despite the transfer, questions remain about the final destination of the funds and real estate. However, a court order issued by Judge Pablo Cayssials halted its implementation, arguing that the norm violated the independence of the Judicial Branch. Thus, the custody, administration, or eventual fate (auction, incorporation into the state, reinvestment, restitution) of the recovered assets will depend on definitions that have not yet been formalized.
The institutional significance of the transfer decided by the Court not only implies the return of part of the money embezzled by corruption to the State, but also serves as an institutional message: judicial and control systems can break impunity structures and recover ill-gotten assets, even decades later. For the Government, it represents an opportunity to strengthen its image in the fight against corruption and reinforce confidence in the institutions.
At the time, the National Executive had created the Recovered Assets Council, under the orbit of the Ministry of Justice, to administer confiscated assets.
The measure implies the transfer of more than US$ 61,130,860.86—along with a package of real estate and other assets—into public ownership.
What did the Court order? In a memo addressed to the judge of the Federal Oral Court 4 (TOF 4), Néstor Costabel, the Director General of Internal Management of the Court reported that the confiscation and final adjudication of the assets had been carried out, including the liquid funds obtained from auctions.
For society, it can symbolize a step towards justice and reparation for the economic and symbolic damage caused by high-impact crimes.
BUENOS AIRES, December 3, 2025 – Total News Agency-TNA – The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (CSJN) formally initiated the process of transferring the assets confiscated from Lázaro Báez and his son Martín Báez to the State. They were convicted for money laundering in the framework of the cause known as 'the K-money route'.
Báez, an emblematic businessman of the so-called 'kirchnerist business', was convicted in 2021 for aggravated money laundering. With the confirmation of the sentence and the rejection of the appeal resources by the Supreme Court in 2025, the execution of the confiscation became final and without the possibility of new appeals.
The formal start of the asset transfer marks an institutional turning point: for the first time in decades, assets of considerable magnitude linked to corruption and money laundering crimes will definitively pass into state patrimony. It was also ordered to register the real estate in the name of the State.
This is a measure derived from a final judgment handed down in April 2021 by the TOF 4, confirmed in 2023 by the Casation Chamber, which enabled its execution.
Scope of the confiscation According to the information provided: The amount confiscated totals US$ 61,130,860.86 for money laundering. In addition, real estate, land, urban and rural properties, vehicles, road machinery, bank accounts abroad, and other assets associated with the companies linked to Báez are included. Among the assets are also two aircraft—already auctioned in previous processes—the proceeds of which are part of the funds now transferred to the State.
Judicial and political context The 'K-money route' case dates back to irregularities in the awarding of public works during the Kirchnerist governments in the province of Santa Cruz.
