Court confirms corruption charges against former disability agency head 

An Argentine appeals court upheld on Tuesday the charges against former National Disability Agency (in Spanish, ANDIS) head Diego Spagnuolo in a case investigating an alleged bribery scheme that operated within the institution.

The investigation is looking into the purchase of high-cost, low-incidence drugs and supplies under the Incluir Salud program. Spagnuolo faces charges of negotiations incompatible with public office, aggravated fraud against the national public administration, and passive bribery. 

The court also confirmed charges against 18 other suspects, including Miguel Ángel Calvete and Daniel Garbellini, Spagnuolo’s second-in-command at ANDIS. 

According to the investigation, overpriced procurement contracts for drugs and supplies were awarded between December 2023 and October 2025, accompanied by alleged bribes paid to public officials.

According to Herald sister publication Ámbito, Judges Eduardo Farah and Roberto Boico insisted in their ruling that there’s enough evidence to affirm Spagnuolo and the other suspects “knew the allocations in advance and simulated competitive bidding by using ‘shell’ bidders.”

The ANDIS corruption scandal broke in August 2025 after several audios attributed to Spagnuolo were leaked to the public. In those audios, the former disability accused Presidency Secretary Karina Milei — President Javier Milei’s sister — and her right-hand man, Lule Menem, of running the bribery scheme. 

The system consisted of taking bribes from pharma and medical companies in exchange for state contracts. The voice in the audios said that Karina Milei took 3% of the bribes.

Karina Milei and Lule Menem were not prosecuted, and the government has outright denied their involvement. Martín Menem, head of the lower house and cousin of Lule, was also mentioned but is not under investigation. Spagnuolo was fired shortly after the audios leaked, and ANDIS was dissolved.

New testimony in Bolivia Bolivian human rights activist Nadia Beller is testifying behind closed doors on Wednesday after handing over a cell phone containing recordings and conversations linked to the ANDIS corruption case to Bolivian authorities.

Argentine judicial authorities could request access to the files via international legal cooperation mechanisms to review them as potential evidence in the case.

The 33-year-old lawyer is an ex-partner of Fernando Cerimedo, a former advisor to President Milei who also worked on former Brazilian right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign. 

Beller previously accused Cerimedo of leaking audio tapes attributed to Spagnuolo that broke open the case to “expose the corruption of Milei and Milei’s sister.”

On Friday, September 18, Beller testified before Bolivian authorities in an investigation targeting Cerimedo for alleged illicit enrichment and handed over her mobile device. According to media reports, the phone contains recordings and message exchanges with the political consultant.

Beller’s attorney, Jerjes Justiniano Atalá, said that the Argentine judiciary could formally request access to the files from the Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office.

The lawyer survived a shooting attack on August 17, when she was shot at a hotel in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, by two gunmen. Cerimedo, a former advisor to Argentine President Javier Milei, was arrested in early August at Viru Viru Airport in Bolivia as part of an investigation into it and remains in custody.