The Yomagate was a
political scandal
In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, uneth ...
that took place in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in 1991, during the government of
Carlos Menem. The name combines the last name of the involved (
Amira Yoma
Amalia Beatriz "Amira" Yoma (born 18 August 1952) is an Argentine political advisor and restaurateur. She is best known for being the Director of Hearings in the presidential administration of her then brother-in-law Carlos Menem, and for being c ...
), and the suffix "Gate" of habitual use in journalism after the
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...
(USA, 1972–1974).
Description
The cause of Yomagate was an investigation of a
cocaine trafficking operation. According to the investigation, large sums of drug money from the U.S. city of New York would have been destined to Argentina, to be laundered by various financial transactions, with the purchase of real estate, jewelry or entrepreneurship. Another portion of the money was to be diverted at the same time to
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
.
The cause of Yomagate involved the secretary and sister-in-law of then Argentine president Carlos Menem, her ex-husband Ibrahim al-Ibrahim (co-director of customs at the
Ezeiza airport) and various notorious drug traffickers and launderers like
Monzer al-Kassar.
Amira Yoma went under preventive detention, which was overruled by the head of the Chamber the Federal Criminal Court Luisa Riva Aramayo; the investigation was cancelled and the investigation cleared all suspects of all charges.
See also
*
Carlos Menem
*
Alfredo Yabrán
Alfredo Enrique Nalib Yabrán (1 November 1944 – 20 May 1998) was a businessman in Argentina, with close links with the government, in particular with the administration of Carlos Saúl Menem. Yabrán killed himself while facing arrest for susp ...
*
Monzer al-Kassar
References
{{Carlos Menem
Political scandals in Argentina
Presidency of Carlos Menem
1991 in Argentina