More than two years have passed since Gonzalo Aguiar, the man who presented himself as a partner of the Canadians who had invested in the Boreal de Salto hemp plant, was shot to death by his partner in a crime classified as legitimate defense. At that time he had already been reported for a million-dollar scam and was being investigated by the Economic Crimes Prosecutor’s Office.
When Aguiar died, the fraud investigation led to an investigation into the businessman’s circle and the part of the purchase of high-end cars and homes was sent to the Lavado prosecutor’s office to find out if he moved the money from the scam.
Likewise, his Canadian partners denounced other people in his environment who collaborated with the staging that Aguiar set up to pose as a prestigious businessman with contacts at the highest level of the government of the last administration.
After numerous interrogations and requests for reports, the investigation confirmed who was the person who posed as the Civil Registry official in the false marriage that Aguiar celebrated with Romina Camejo in Punta del Este.
This is a young man who, without being a lawyer, worked in a law firm alongside someone who is a lawyer and became Aguiar’s right-hand man. When testifying to the prosecution, the man who officiated the wedding admitted that his friend contacted him to host a wedding because he knows how to play instruments. According to what he told him, the idea was to go to the party directly.
However, he said that at the last minute Aguiar called him and asked him to officiate the ceremony. The man cleared the friend who contacted him of responsibility, as he claimed that he was not aware.
The man reached an agreement with the prosecution to close the case in an abbreviated process. In a hearing that was set for May 5, he will admit to having committed the crime of usurpation of public functions, which punishes anyone who improperly exercises public functions with sentences of three to twelve months in prison.
On the other hand, the lawyer admitted that he was the one who had a conversation with one of the Canadian partners but denies having impersonated the then president of the BROU Salvador Ferrer.
When the Canadians were already suspicious about Aguiar’s honesty, the alleged Ferrer explained to them through WhatsApp audios that a legal problem prevented the transfer of funds whose origin was linked to marijuana by US regulation, and that one way to avoid these regulations was to invest in another company so that that firm would then transfer the profits.
An expert report that was carried out in Argentina hired by the Canadians’ defense, pointed towards that lawyer, but the case presents some complexities that mean that the prosecution is not yet in a position to request the man’s indictment yet.
The lawyer said in the prosecution that the voice in the WhatsApp audio is his but did not confirm that he had introduced himself as Salvador Ferrer. He stated that the conversation is decontextualized, and that what he did was, at Aguiar’s request, explain to the Canadian the terms of the legal difficulties of the cannabis business. In fact, in the audio that was played you cannot hear the lawyer introducing himself as Ferrer.
In that sense, the sources said that the Prosecutor’s Office is thinking about carrying out another expert report on the chain of custody of the Scientific Police and that there is the possibility of doing it in Argentina.
The lawyer assured that he had no idea that Aguiar was defrauding his partners and that he did not move money nor was he part of the maneuvers.
The Lavado investigation made progress
The investigation into money laundering by prosecutor Enrique Rodríguez has advanced in recent months, according to prosecutors’ sources, who indicated that statements were taken from a notary public and relatives of Aguiar and they are awaiting a report.
The prosecution had been working to trace the origin of the assets since Aguiar died, and in that sense, the lifting of banking and tax secrecy of all people and companies linked to the businessman was requested.
The Canadian businessmen who had denounced him for fraud, stated that to start Boreal, the medicinal hemp processing plant fired all its workers via WhatsApp without explanations, they had given it US$27.5 million and that it only invested US$12.5 million in the company.
