ARGENTINA · COURTS
Key Facts
- —What is happening Former president Cristina Kirchner and her son Máximo go on trial in Buenos Aires on Friday, 23 October, at 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. ET), accused of money laundering and running an illicit association.
- —Why it matters The trial is a new case for Cristina Kirchner, who serves house arrest in another corruption case, and it opens in the year before Argentina’s 2027 presidential election.
- —The numbers Twenty-one defendants face two joined cases opened in 2014 and 2016. Money laundering and illicit association carry three to ten years in prison.
- —Who is who Federal Oral Tribunal 5 hears the case, with judges José Michilini, Fernando Machado Pelloni and Adriana Palliotti. Carlos Beraldi leads the defence, and both Kirchners deny the charges.
- —What to watch The first hearing reads out the charges, and the Kirchners may follow it on video. Hearings then run on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, and defendants must attend in person for questioning.
- —Power Index Argentina ranks 4th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 61.2 points (October 2026 edition).
- —What it means for you US readers tracking Argentina’s politics get the first full court calendar for the main opposition figure before 2027. The charges are allegations, and no verdict is expected soon.
Cristina Kirchner and her son Máximo go on trial in Buenos Aires on Friday, 23 October. Prosecutors allege a hotel and rental scheme laundered illicit payments.
The Kirchner trial opens in Buenos Aires on Friday, 23 October, at 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. ET). Former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her son Máximo, a congressman, face one joint trial for money laundering and illicit association.
The case, known as Hotesur and Los Sauces, concerns two family companies that managed hotels and rental properties in Santa Cruz province. Prosecutors say the firms were used to launder payments from state contractors, and both Kirchners deny the charges through their lawyers.
For US readers, the hearing starts a long court calendar for Argentina’s most prominent opposition figure. It runs in the year before the 2027 presidential election, according to Perfil and El Cronista.
What the Prosecution Alleges
Prosecutors say that between 2003 and 2015, during the presidencies of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández, the family built a money-laundering circuit. The Cooperativa report, based on an EFE dispatch, says the firms Hotesur and Los Sauces received illicit payments from businessmen.
In Hotesur, the focus is the family hotel company and the Alto Calafate and Las Dunas hotels. Prosecutors say firms tied to contractor Lázaro Báez paid for rooms that, in their view, were not actually used.
In Los Sauces, investigators examine rentals of the family real-estate firm to companies tied to Báez and to the Indalo group. Its leaders, Cristóbal López and Fabián De Sousa, are also defendants.
Cristina Fernández is accused of illicit association as its head, and of money laundering. Máximo Kirchner is accused as an organiser of the alleged association, and of money laundering.
Who Else Is on Trial
The indictment covers 19 other defendants, among them businessmen, provincial officials and people close to the family. They include Carlos Sancho, a former governor of Santa Cruz, and Báez, who has been jailed since 2016 in another case.
Florencia Kirchner, also a daughter of the former president and a shareholder, is not on trial. She was definitively dismissed from the case in 2023, according to the EFE report.
The complaints that opened the investigations came from former congresswoman Margarita Stolbizer of the GEN party. Hotesur began in 2014 and Los Sauces in 2016, and the cases were joined at the cassation level in 2019.
How the Case Reached Trial After Years of Delay
In November 2021, Federal Oral Tribunal 5 dismissed the defendants without holding a trial. An appeals court reversed that in September 2023, and the Supreme Court left a trial standing in December 2024.
In September 2026, the trial court split the case. Los Sauces was to open on 23 October, and Hotesur was set for 19 March 2027, according to NoticiasNQN.
On Tuesday, 20 October, Chamber I of the Federal Criminal Cassation Court reversed the split. Judges Diego Barroetaveña and Daniel Petrone formed the majority, and Judge Alejandro Slokar dissented.
The majority said the trial court had not explained why it departed from the joint handling set years earlier. Prosecutors and the financial intelligence unit, the UIF, had argued that two trials could fragment the evidence.
What Changes for the Defendants on Friday
On Wednesday, 21 October, the trial court let the Kirchners attend the first hearing by video link. That hearing will read out the charges, and the court kept the 10 a.m. start.
Judge Adriana Palliotti dissented and wanted them present from the first day. Questioning of defendants who are called must happen in person, according to Perfil.
Cristina Fernández has served house arrest since 17 June 2025, under a six-year sentence and lifetime office ban in the Vialidad case. She asked to join the first hearing remotely, according to El Cronista.
Hearings are planned for the AMIA room at the Comodoro Py federal courts in Buenos Aires, on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. Defence lawyer Carlos Beraldi had argued that changing the format days before the start could harm his clients’ rights.
For context, see earlier coverage of the Hotesur cassation ruling and of Kirchner facing trial. The Argentina hub and the explainer on the 2027 Kicillof and Milei race add the political background.
What It Means for US Readers
The trial puts a former president and leading opposition figure in court as Argentina heads toward its 2027 presidential election. Investors and policy watchers should treat it as one part of the political calendar, not as a market event on its own.
Nothing in the case concerns US companies or the US government, according to the reports reviewed. A conviction would take years, and appeals could follow.
What Is Not Known
The court has not published the trial schedule beyond the first hearing, and no verdict date exists. The length of the trial is unknown, given 21 defendants and a large volume of evidence.
The court’s own notice of the hearing could not be opened, so details rest on Perfil, El Cronista, NoticiasNQN and Cooperativa. The defendants’ written responses to the charges are not public in the reports reviewed.
What Comes Next
The first hearing on Friday, 23 October, reads out the charges. The court will then fix who testifies and when.
The opening does not mean a finding of guilt, and the charges remain allegations until the court rules. The trial court could take months or longer to reach a verdict.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hotesur and Los Sauces case?
It is a money-laundering and illicit-association case about two Kirchner family firms. Prosecutors say hotel and rental deals with state contractors hid illicit payments, and the defendants deny it.
When does the Kirchner trial start?
The oral trial starts on Friday, 23 October, at 10 a.m. in Buenos Aires (9 a.m. ET). The first hearing reads out the charges.
Will Cristina Kirchner attend in person?
Not on the first day, because the court let her and her son follow the reading of the charges by video. Questioning must be in person.
Who is on trial besides the Kirchners?
Nineteen others, including businessmen Lázaro Báez, Cristóbal López and Fabián De Sousa and former Santa Cruz governor Carlos Sancho. Florencia Kirchner was dismissed in 2023.
What penalty could they face?
Money laundering and illicit association carry three to ten years in prison. Any sentence would follow a verdict and could be appealed.
Sources: Perfil, 21 October 2026; El Cronista, 21 October 2026; NoticiasNQN, 20 October 2026; Cooperativa, citing EFE, 22 October 2026 (all accessed 23 October 2026).