Overview

• Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 3, led by Judge Daniel Rafecas, found Mórtola guilty of breach of public duties after an oral trial held on August 13 and 14.
• Mórtola received six months in prison on a suspended basis, was ordered to pay court costs, and was specially disqualified from public office for twice that period.
• The case confirmed that the port authority paid more than $940,000 to Indra through a direct contract justified by a two‑page memo from advisers Martín Hagelstrom and Ernesto Laborde.
• Earlier findings by Judge Martínez de Giorgi—upheld by Appeals Court judges Mariano Llorens, Leopoldo Bruglia and Pablo Bertuzzi—described the contractor’s selection as arbitrary.
• Media accounts describe Mórtola as the first official from Mauricio Macri’s administration to receive a conviction, and his attempts to avoid trial through letters rogatory to Spain and offers of compensation and community service were rejected.