Airline executives charged for money laundering in Argentina

Two executives of Southern Winds Airlines in Argentina are being tried this week in Córdoba for money laundering, reports lavoz.com.ar. The accused are being prosecuted for embezzling more than 3 million pesos from the National Department of Tourism between 2002 and 2005 by withholding 5% of the rates charged for all international flights. Prosecutors are asking for a four year prison sentence and a 90 thousand peso fine each for director Enrique Atilio Montero and president and founder Juan José Maggio. This case follows previous criminal charges that connected Maggio to 57 kilos of cocaine found on one of his airline’s flights. He was acquitted of those charges, but the scandal led to the closure of the airline in 2005. In court today the prosecution also asked that actions be implemented against the two men to keep them from fleeing before they are sentenced. Read Article