Overview

• Federal Oral Court No. 7 convicted former planning minister Julio De Vido of aggravated fraudulent administration tied to LNG purchases in 2008–2009.
• Roberto Baratta received three years and six months, and businessman Nicolás Dromi was given a three-year suspended sentence for his role as an intermediary.
• The judges ordered $5.5 million to be repaid to the state and imposed a lifetime ban from public office on De Vido and Baratta.
• The verdict was delivered by videoconference, and De Vido and Baratta will not be jailed unless the convictions are upheld on appeal.
• The case found unnecessary commission payments to intermediaries, including YPF and firms linked to the Dromi family, after an earlier $7 billion overpricing report was voided for false data.