Argentine Update

Former Argentine president Cristina Fernandez has been indicted for fraud and corruption in a scheme valued by the Express (U.K.) at $5 billion. Hat tip to Lucianne.com for the link.

The ex-president, her economy minister Axel Kicillof, former central bank chief Alejandro Vanoli, and 12 others were charged with 'unfaithful administration to the detriment of public administration', according to court papers.

The accusation is that the central bank took billions of dollars worth of money-losing positions in the futures market ahead of a widely expected devaluation of the Argentine peso.

Federal judge Clauido Bonadio said a scheme to inflate the Argentine peso by selling the central bank’s US dollars below market value would not have been possible without the ex-president.

Judge Bonadio said the state lost more than $5billion (£3billion), allowing buyers to make a big profit on transactions.

Those "buyers" stand accused, of course. Corrupt politicians are a Latin American staple as we noted on Thursday.