The headline is less tactful,
Argentinean Journalist to file petition in U.S. Courts to obtain information about Cristina Kirchner’s money laundering operations
Last night, Argentinean renowned investigative journalist Jorge Lanata announced he is planning to submit an application for an order for discovery pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 in a Nevada District Court, aiming to obtain information related to President Cristina Kirchner’s companies in the United States.
Section 1782 of Title 28 of the United States Code is a federal statute that allows a party to a legal proceeding outside the United States to ask an American court to obtain evidence for use in the non-US proceeding. The full name of Section 1782 is “Assistance to foreign and international tribunals and to litigants before such tribunals”.
For the last two years, Jorge Lanata has been conducting an investigation known as the “Kirchner Money Route”, through which he demonstrated that Kirchner cronies were laundering millions of dollars coming from corrupt activities through a vast networks of shell companies and shady financial institutions in Argentina, Uruguay, Panamá, Switzerland, Seychelles Islands and the U.S., among others.
This investigation was then used by NML Capital Ltd., a hedge fund who holds a judgment against Argentina for more than $1.7 Billions (see NML Capital Ltd. vs. Republic of Argentina), as the main source of evidence to produce information about 123 companies in the State of Nevada that may point to the location of Cristina Kirchner’s assets in the United States and abroad. NML Capital Ltd. was able to depose a key witness to the “K-Money Route”. However, that deposition is being sealed by the request of the parties.
In Spanish, Lanata’s Sunday show.
More on NML bond holdouts:
A New Twist in the Argentine Debt Saga
But Dart’s legal complaint draws attention to something that had been overlooked as the talks progressed: The so-called Gang of Five—the five holdouts at the center of Singer’s legal case: Singer’s NML Capital, Aurelius Capital, Blue Angel Capital, Oliphant, and a small group of retail investors—hold only about a quarter of all the New York bonds held by holdouts. In addition to Dart, there are approximately $2.4 billion worth of bonds out there that are governed by New York law and in the hands of other holdout investors. The minute Argentina settles with Singer’s group and the bondholder payments are allowed to flow through, all the other holdouts will likely rush forward to Judge Thomas Griesa’s court, demanding the same legal rulings and the same terms, which could block the payments again. The default could be cured temporarily, but then Argentina would be right back where it started.
NML sought an emergency court order last week barring attorney Cesar Guido Forcieri, a former World Bank director, from returning. There’s no reason NML can’t question Forcieri when he gets to Argentina, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said in a one-page order issued Nov. 6 and made public today.
. . .
Forcieri is a close associate of Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou, NML said in court papers. Boudou was indicted in June by an Argentine federal court on corruption charges related to his alleged involvement in acquiring a bankrupt printing company, Ciccone Calcografica SA, that later won contracts to print the nation’s currency.Boudou was initially indicted with five others. In September, an Argentine judge indicted Forcieri for his alleged role in helping to steer business to Ciccone. If Argentine courts find Boudou guilty, the country may confiscate any profit, funds or property employed in the takeover scheme, according to NML’s lawyers.
Until last month, Forcieri served in Washington as a World Bank director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. He worked with Argentina’s Ministry of Economy and Public Finances as a G-20 finance deputy from 2010 until March, according to a profile on LinkedIn.
NML served Forcieri with a subpoena on Sept. 10 seeking documents regarding his involvement in the alleged Ciccone scheme. The Argentine lawyer failed to appear for a deposition on Oct. 20, NML said.
This ain’t over yet, not by a long shot, no matter what the SCOTUS ruled.
