Argentine Appeals Court Upholds Corruption Charges Against 19 in Disability Agency
ARGENTINA · COURTS
Key Facts
- The country. Argentina has 46.0 million people. President Javier Milei has governed since 10 December 2023 on a programme of deep public spending cuts.
- The money. The peso trades near 1,515 to the US dollar officially and about 1,535 on the parallel blue market. That gap, once huge, is now almost closed.
- What the agency is. ANDIS is Argentina’s national disability agency. It buys high-cost medicines for people with no other health cover, through a state programme called Incluir Salud.
- What happened. On 22 September 2026 Sala II of the Buenos Aires federal appeals court upheld pre-trial charges against 19 people. They include Diego Spagnuolo, who ran the agency until August 2025.
- The scale. Prosecutors put the public money steered through staged tenders at about 75.5 billion pesos (US$49.9 million), and a state audit found mark-ups of up to 4,239%. Defence lawyers dispute the evidence.
- What it means for you. Nothing changes for a resident’s own healthcare. Companies that sell to Argentine health bodies should expect closer checks on tenders and prices while the case runs.
- The catch. A procesamiento is a pre-trial finding that there is enough evidence to continue, not a conviction, and all 19 are presumed innocent. The reduced asset freezes and any trial date are still unpublished.
A federal appeals panel in Buenos Aires upheld pre-trial charges against the former head of Argentina’s disability agency and 18 other people.
Argentina’s federal appeals court upheld the ANDIS corruption case on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, keeping charges against 19 people. Nobody has been convicted, and every defendant is presumed innocent.
What the appeals court decided
Sala II of the federal appeals court in Buenos Aires confirmed the charges against Diego Spagnuolo and 18 other people. Judges Eduardo Farah and Roberto Boico signed the decision on Tuesday, 22 September 2026.
The judges said Spagnuolo did not simply watch the process, but took an active part in it. His lawyers say the medicine programme was not really his responsibility.
The order is called a procesamiento. It is a pre-trial finding that there is enough evidence to continue, not a verdict.
Judge Sebastián Casanello ordered the original charges in February 2026. He later left the court, and Ariel Lijo now runs the case as acting judge.
The panel also rejected a defence request to void the case over leaked audio recordings. Federal prosecutor Franco Picardi built the accusation on other evidence.
The charges in the ANDIS corruption case
Spagnuolo is charged with deals incompatible with public office, aggravated fraudulent administration, and passive bribery. The court also treats him as an alleged leader of an illegal association.
ANDIS is the Agencia Nacional de Discapacidad, Argentina’s national disability agency. It paid for high-cost medicines and supplies for patients without other health cover.
Daniel Garbellini, his former deputy, and the businessman Miguel Ángel Calvete are among the other defendants. Pablo Atchabahian, a doctor and former official, is also charged.
The ruling says Calvete knew in advance which products would go to tender and which drugstores would be invited. Investigators found tables on his phone listing commissions of 15%, 10%, 5% and 3%.
Garbellini took charge of the office that managed those purchases in July 2024. He was named to that post by Spagnuolo.
Prosecutors say bidding was staged, favoured drugstores were invited, and prices were inflated. Defence lawyers dispute the evidence and have asked for the case to be thrown out.
Frozen assets and travel bans
In February, Casanello ordered asset freezes, known as embargos, on the main defendants. The freeze on Spagnuolo’s property was about 202 billion pesos (US$134 million).
Conversions use about 1,514 pesos to the dollar, the rate on 23 September 2026. The appeals panel kept the bans on selling assets and on leaving the country.
It lowered the freeze amounts, and the new figures are not yet known. The defendants are not in custody.
Searches in the investigation turned up more than US$1 million in cash. About US$700,000 was found at the home of Calvete’s daughter, Ornella.
Another US$266,000 was found in a car linked to Emmanuel Kovalivker. The February order said the accused would remain free while the case continued.
The money and the recordings
Picardi says a system inside ANDIS steered contracts between December 2023 and October 2025. He puts the public money involved at about 75.5 billion pesos (US$49.9 million).
A separate count values the overpriced purchase orders at about 30.3 billion pesos (US$20 million). A government audit found mark-ups of up to 4,239%.
A government audit of ANDIS also found a gap of about 158.7 billion pesos (US$104.8 million) in the agency’s records. The audit followed the government takeover of the agency in 2025.
The case began with leaked audio recordings attributed to Spagnuolo in August 2025. Casanello did not use those recordings as evidence.
Gendarmería Nacional, a federal security force, is examining the 58 audio files. On 16 September its experts suspended the voice comparison, calling the key file unsuitable.
Nadia Beller, a former partner of the media figure Fernando Cerimedo, was due to testify on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. She has said she has proof about who leaked the recordings.
Why this matters to expats and investors
ANDIS buys medicines for people with disabilities who have no other health cover. The programme at the centre of the case is called Incluir Salud.
The agency has been under government intervention since 2025. Its head, Alejandro Vilches, resigned on Monday, 21 September 2026, citing personal reasons.
For investors, the ANDIS corruption case shows appeals judges backing a prosecution that reaches into the government. That is a signal about the courts, not about markets.
Companies that sell to Argentine health bodies can expect closer checks on tenders and prices. Compliance work tends to grow while a procurement case is live.
What is not known
The size of the reduced asset freezes is not yet known. Neither is the date of any oral trial.
Picardi has asked for 30 more people to be charged. Lijo has still to rule on that request.
The voice examination is unfinished, so the recordings are not confirmed as genuine. The judges say the accusation does not rest on them.
No conviction has been entered against anyone here, and all 19 remain presumed innocent. The next step to watch is the ruling on the second group of accused.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does processing mean in Argentina?
It is a pre-trial court order finding enough evidence to continue a case. It is not a conviction.
Is Diego Spagnuolo in custody?
No. The February order said the accused would remain free while the investigation continued.
Were assets frozen in the ANDIS corruption case?
Yes. Assets were frozen in February, and the appeals panel kept the restrictions while lowering the amounts.
Sources: Sala II of Argentina’s Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Criminal y Correccional Federal, ruling of 22 September 2026, as reported by La Nación, Ámbito, elDiarioAR, Perfil, Revista Quórum, BAE Negocios, Cadena 3, Análisis Digital and Infobae.
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