Madero Center

Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Madero Center

General information
Type| Hotel
Address| Juana Manso 555
Town or city| Buenos Aires
Country| Argentina
Inaugurated| 2008

Madero Center is a hotel in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires.

## Characteristics

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Madero Center is a five-star hotel. It has a bar, two pools, a solarium and a sauna. It is divided in different towers, with each apartment costing nearly US$700,000.[1]

Several Argentine politicians and businessmen have bought apartments in Madero Center, such as the former Vice President Amado Boudou and the businessman Cristóbal López.[1] The former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has also bought two apartments and eight parking locations, but only as a financial investment.[1]

## Controversies

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### Boudougate

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Main article: Boudougate

The Vice President Amado Boudou, a former minister of economy, is accused of abusing his position as minister to save the firm Ciccone Calcográfica from bankruptcy, as he may have had personal links with the owners and thus a conflict of interest. Boudou denies such links. However, his monthly fee at Madero Center is paid through Siren S.A., which is associated to "London Supply", one of the firms that finances Ciccone out of the bankruptcy.[1]

### The Route of the K-Money

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Main article: The Route of the K-Money

Madero Center was a controversial building in 2013, when Federico Elaskar told to the TV program Periodismo para todos that it held a firm known as "La Rosadita", used for money laundering. This firm channeled money from the Santa Cruz Province to Uruguay, and from Uruguay to Switzerland. The movements, made through shell corporations, were divided in portions of 1.5 million to avoid detection. The building has its own interior parking lot, allowing customers to move large sums of money without risk of street thieves. All new customers had to be invited by regular customers.[2]

The judicial case was assigned to the judge Sebastián Casanello, who ordered a search and seizure at the building.[3] This was done several days after the airing of the TV program.[4] The investigation suggested that the computers had info erased in those days.[5] Nevertheless, it was discovered that "Austral Construcciones", owned by Lázaro Báez, was a client of "La Rosadita".[6] Báez is one of the main suspects of the judicial case.[7]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d "Madero Center, el edificio de los actores del "Boudougate"" [Madero Center, the building of the actors of the "Boudougate"] (in Spanish). Perfil. March 18, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
2. ^ "Cómo operaba "La Rosadita", la financiera de Puerto Madero mencionada por Leonardo Fariña" [How did "La Rosadita", the firm in Puerto Madero mentioned by Leonardo Fariña, work] (in Spanish). La Nación. April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
3. ^ "Piden indagar a Fariña y a Elaskar y allanan "La Rosadita"" [Fariña and Elaskar are requested for inquiry and "La Rosadita" is intervened] (in Spanish). La Nación. April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
4. ^ "Critican la falta de reacción de los fiscales" [The lack of reaction of prosecutors is criticized] (in Spanish). La Nación. April 18, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
5. ^ Paz Rodriguez Niell (April 23, 2013). "Hubo nuevos allanamientos por el caso Báez y buscan más financieras" [There were new search and seizures for the Baez case, they seek more financial firms] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
6. ^ Paz Rodriguez Niell (May 11, 2013). "Una firma del grupo cambiaba cheques en "La Rosadita"" [A firm of the group exchanged checks at "La Rosadita"] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
7. ^ Paz Rodriguez Niell (May 4, 2013). "El fiscal imputó a Báez en la causa por lavado" [The prosecutor accused Báez in the case of money laundering] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved January 2, 2014.

## External links

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* Official website