Buenos Aires, January 20, 2026 (NA) – Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello rejected a proposal for economic reparations of 87.9 million pesos presented by Leandro Gastón Kebleris, who is being prosecuted as a necessary participant in the alleged embezzlement of funds from the Potenciar Trabajo program. The judge ruled that crimes against public administration cannot be resolved through private agreements. According to the ruling, the proposal sought to extinguish the criminal action without acknowledging any facts or rights. The offer included the immediate transfer of over 14 million already-seized pesos and the payment of the remainder in 12 installments. In addition to the prosecutor's office, the Anti-Corruption Office, the Ministry of Human Capital, and the Financial Information Unit—all three acting as private plaintiffs—opposed the agreement. The prosecutor's office places Kebleris and Rivero as key players in a network that allegedly operated for nearly four years within the Polo Obrero movement and its management units, through companies such as Coxtex S.A., Ediciones e Impresiones Rumbos, Urban Graphics, Ricoprint, and Miniso Trade, accused of issuing false documentation to simulate purchases and cover up the diversion of public funds. Kebleris, along with Anahí Rivero, is accused of making Coxtex S.A. available to the Polo Obrero movement and the El Resplandor Cooperative, which the prosecutor's office describes as a "bogus invoicing factory" without real operational capacity. The investigation maintains that in October 2021, Coxtex issued two invoices for 5.46 million pesos that would have allowed social program resources to be diverted to press activities, militancy, and electoral campaigning. The Public Ministry warned that the case involves multiple actors and ongoing lines of investigation, so fragmenting the reparations could affect the coherence of the accusation. Casanello also rejected calling a hearing to discuss the proposal, stating that there was no prior agreement with the State as the injured party, and considered that ratifying the understanding could hinder the proceedings before the Federal Oral Court No. 8, which will try the leader of the Polo Obrero, Eduardo Belliboni, and 15 other people. The magistrate is now in a position to resolve the request to elevate the case to trial.
