Buenos Aires, Jan 29 (NA) – Lawyer Gastón Francone defended his client, entrepreneur and former husband of Jésica Cirio, Elías Piccirillo, against accusations of an alleged irregular operation in the purchase of official dollars and their resale on the parallel market during the Alberto Fernández government. In an interview on Radio Rivadavia, Francone rejected the existence of any criminal activity by Piccirillo and questioned not only the legitimacy of the accusations, but also the basis of the judicial investigation. "We cannot (do) that, it is forbidden," said the lawyer. "According to his testimony, Hauque had threatened several executives to operate his financial firms and access the official dollar when the exchange gap exceeded 100%," he added. Francone also stated that the current accusations "lack foundation." According to what the Argentine News Agency learned, the case's investigations, which are in the hands of Judge Sebastián Casanelo and federal prosecutor Franco Piccardi, seek to clarify "a presumed network" where Central Bank officials would have facilitated the purchase of foreign currency at an official value to later be sold with a significant gap in the informal market. The investigation took a new turn with the revelation of an audio recording, made on February 1, 2025, where Piccirillo is heard talking with Romina García, an inspector of Supervision of Non-Financial Entities at the Central Bank (BCRA), and in which García "requests a proof." "I need a proof. I cannot go from nothing to say something, because they will tell me that, then, I had a link or something, do you understand?" Francone downplayed the impact of this conversation and stated that "no crime is found absolutely" in that chat because "no one is talking about the illegal purchase of currency or foreign currency." The lawyer also contextualized Piccirillo's situation and mentioned a previous parallel case, for which his client had been under house arrest. "It cannot be done."
