Argentina’s Magistrates Council is examining two alleged instances of misconduct: a $200,000 bribery case and the nondisclosure of an earlier dismissal. Salmain and his defense dispute the accusations.
Proceedings against Rosario federal judge Gastón Salmain began Tuesday in Argentina. A jury under the Magistrates Council will decide whether to remove him from office. La Nación reported sharp exchanges between the accusers and the defense during the hearing.
In the first case, Salmain is accused of helping the Attila trust acquire $10 million at the official exchange rate during currency controls, despite objections from the Central Bank. Prosecutors allege that the arrangement carried a price of about $200,000, or 10% of the gap between the official and parallel dollar rates. Financier Fernando Whpei, who managed the trust, described the alleged payment as a cooperating witness. The accusers say Salmain acted with others in exchange for promised financial gain; his defense denies any connection between the judge and Whpei.
The second charge concerns Salmain’s failure to disclose an earlier dismissal from the judiciary when he applied to become a judge. The episode dates back about 24 years, when he worked at a social-security court and was accused of offering a clerk money to manipulate the assignment of pension cases. The Supreme Court dismissed him unanimously; the related criminal case ended with a probation agreement.
Salmain testified that he could not remember why he had been dismissed and had left the episode off his application because it did not “add points.” He argued that he had already left the judiciary before the dismissal and questioned the Supreme Court’s authority over a former employee. His defense also said the application form did not allow such information and that prosecutors would fail to prove he knew Whpei.
Senator Luis Juez, one of three accusers alongside Magistrates Council members Diego Barroetaveña and Jimena de la Torre, said Salmain should be in prison. The suspended judge has been charged with failure to perform public duties, aggravated passive bribery and issuing an unjust ruling. A pretrial detention order has not been carried out because he retains judicial immunity; removal from office could lift that obstacle.
A separate dispute arose over Whpei’s testimony. The defense sought to call him, but the jury reversed the decision after objections from the accusers. Salmain’s attorney José Manuel Ubeira linked the case to political infighting at the Supreme Court and criticized the use of cooperating witnesses. The accusers say Whpei’s account is important to reconstructing the transaction. The proceedings concern allegations and do not amount to a finding of guilt.