Argentina’s former president, Cristina Kirchner, currently serving a six-year fraud sentence under house arrest, is set to stand trial on Thursday, November 6, in a separate corruption case involving allegations that she received millions in bribes.
Kirchner, a dominant and polarizing figure in Argentine politics for over two decades, led the country from 2007 to 2015 and later served as vice president from 2019 to 2023. Her latest legal challenge comes as her Peronist movement reels from a sweeping defeat by President Javier Milei’s right-wing coalition in last month’s midterm elections.
The case, known as the “notebooks” scandal, revolves around handwritten records kept by a government chauffeur, who claims to have transported cash bribes from businessmen to senior officials between 2003 and 2015, covering both Néstor Kirchner’s presidency and Cristina Kirchner’s two terms.
Prosecutors allege that the 72-year-old led a criminal network that collected illicit payments in exchange for state contracts. A total of 87 individuals have been charged, including a former federal minister and several junior officials.
Kirchner, under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor since her June conviction for “fraudulent administration,” maintains that the charges are politically motivated, part of a long-running effort to sideline her.
It is not yet clear whether she will appear in court via video link from her Buenos Aires residence. If convicted, she could face six to ten years in prison after what is expected to be a lengthy trial.
Her defense team has questioned the reliability of the chauffeur’s notebooks, arguing that the entries were altered more than 1,500 times and cannot be considered trustworthy evidence.
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