Overview

• Tribunal Oral Federal 7 convicted former planning minister Julio De Vido of aggravated fraudulent administration and imposed lifetime disqualification from public office on him and ex-official Roberto Baratta.
• Baratta was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, while businessman Nicolás Dromi of Diligentia S.A. received three years, reported as a suspended sentence by multiple outlets.
• The case focused on payments deemed unnecessary to intermediaries in the import of 11 LNG cargoes in 2008–2009, with prosecutors alleging more than US$5 million in undue commissions.
• The verdict was read by Judges Enrique Méndez Signori, Germán Castelli and Fernando Canero via videoconference, and the prison terms will not be enforced until the judgment becomes final.
• An early expert report that had underpinned the probe was later declared invalid, its author faces a separate criminal case, and the court scheduled November 28 for its written reasons ahead of expected appeals to the Federal Cassation Court.