Overview
- The federal prosecutor, who filed the request Wednesday, asked Judge Ariel Lijo to summon former health minister Carla Vizzotti, businessman Hugo Sigman, infectious-disease doctor Pedro Cahn and others for questioning in the vaccine procurement case.
- Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli alleges a pattern of corruption, influence and conflicts of interest, saying officials stalled a Pfizer agreement to favor suppliers tied to local partners.
- He cites an August 2020 Pfizer offer of 13.2 million doses, including 3 million slated for late 2020 to early 2021, and argues delays led Argentina to lose a reserved slot and receive fewer doses while deals with AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Sinopharm moved faster.
- The filing says Pfizer-related files were hidden or left idle for months in the government’s GEDO electronic records system and maps links between officials and private actors, including Grupo Insud’s mAbxience and Elea Phoenix, Fundación Huésped, Fundación Mundo Sano, Vacunar SA and Richmond.
- Stornelli seeks inquiries under alleged offenses of abuse of authority, breach of duties and incompatible negotiations, and an indagatoria in Argentina is a pre-trial hearing where a suspect appears before a federal judge to respond or remain silent; the case is in the instruction phase and the allegations have not been proven.