Prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita announced that he is initiating an investigation into an alleged involvement of Fernandez, her Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, lawmaker Andres Larroque and other officials in using a 2013 memorandum with Iran to remove officials from that country from Interpol lists in exchange for trade preferences. The Iranian officials would be on an Interpol "most wanted" list of people accused of crimes and other illicit activities and would be unable to do business with anyone or enjoy any diplomatic privileges.
Prosecutors allege that Fernández tried to cover up Iran's involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires so that Argentina would get favorable prices for oil.
Pollicita declared that the investigation will go forward despite the mysterious death of the previous official in charge of the case.
— Kosherlat (@Kosherlat) August 31, 2014
The previous prosecutor, Alberto Nisman was found dead in his apartment on January 18, just a day before he was to present evidence that he claimed linked Fernández to the cover up. Initially Nisman's death was ruled a suicide, however police found no evidence to substantiate this claim.
Investigators later found in his trash can a draft of an arrest warrant for the president and her foreign minister.
After Nisman's death, the president alleged that the prosecutor was killed by forces who tried to remove her from office.
"The criminal complaint by prosecutor Nisman was never in itself the true plot against the government," Fernandez wrote, adding that the investigation would "collapse like a house of cards." Instead, she suggested, the real plot against her was Nisman's death. "They used him while he was alive, and then they needed him dead," she wrote. "It's that sad and terrible."
Nevertheless, on Friday Gerardo Policita announced that he will move forward with probing Argentine officials. "An investigation will be initiated with an eye toward substantiating the accusations and whether those responsible can be held criminally responsible," Policita announced in a written statement.
— Vanesa Maya (@vanemaya) January 20, 2015
The Argentine president and other officials contend that they never made an agreement with Iran over anything, and that this whole incident is part of a conspiracy perpetuated by political opponents in the last year of Kirchner's presidency.
Argentine government spokesman Aníbal Fernández dismissed the charges, saying, "They have absolutely no judicial weight whatsoever. It looks like they're already trying to condemn her and say she's guilty. But it has no connection to reality and it's not as important as some think it is," he added, according to El Pais.
Under Argentine law, Fernández de Kirchner cannot be prosecuted without being stripped of immunity, but she is leaving office at the end of the year.
