Former Argentine senator Edgardo Darío Kueider and his secretary, Iara Magdalena Guinsel Costa, have been convicted of attempted currency smuggling. The Specialized Economic Crimes Court, composed of judges Elsa García, Adriana Planás, and Matías Garcete, sentenced Kueider to two years in prison and Guinsel to one year and ten months, with both sentences suspended.
The case dates back to December 4, 2024, when the couple was detained at the Friendship Bridge, which connects Foz do Iguaçu to Ciudad del Este. During a routine inspection of their Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV, customs agents found a backpack containing 211,102 US dollars, 640,000 Argentine pesos, and 3.9 million guaranis that had not been declared.
The court found it proven that both individuals, who had entered Paraguay on at least five previous occasions, were aware of the obligation to declare the funds. The presiding judge of the panel, Elsa García, emphasized that the omission constituted an attempt to introduce goods into the customs territory outside the law.
Kueider and Guinsel have been under house arrest with electronic monitoring since the date of their detention. The time already served under this measure—one year and eight months—will count towards their sentence. The former senator also faces a separate money laundering case in Paraguay, related to the purchase of luxury apartments in the Innova Las Mercedes building, valued at 460,379 dollars.
Furthermore, the Argentine judiciary, through federal judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, has requested Kueider's extradition to face charges of illicit enrichment and bribery linked to the Securitas case. The Argentine Senate had already expelled the lawmaker for "moral incapacity" following his arrest in the neighboring country.