The Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation confirmed the indictment of Facundo Leal, former head of ARSAT during the governments of Alberto Fernández and Javier Milei, on charges of drug possession with intent to distribute, based on narcotics seized at his Palermo apartment during a raid conducted as part of a corruption case, where investigators also found 2.4 million dollars in cash.
Judicial sources informed Clarín that Section I of the Cassation Chamber rejected the appeal filed by Leal's defense team. Leal is currently under house arrest. With the confirmation of the indictment, the former official is now eligible to be sent to oral trial.
Judges Alejandro Slokar, Daniel Petrone, and Diego Barroetaveña noted that the appeal "does not constitute a final judgment" for Cassation to intervene. They also stated that Leal had been indicted by a first-instance judge and by the Federal Chamber "without there being observed—nor has the appealing party managed to demonstrate—the existence of a federal question or the verification of a case of arbitrariness in the contested ruling that would warrant this Chamber's intervention as an intermediate court."
Leal was a founder of ARSAT, the state-owned telecommunications company, during the government of Néstor Kirchner. Under President Alberto Fernández, he was appointed head of the agency, a position he continued to hold with the arrival of Milei. In 2025, he was named to lead ORSNA, the body responsible for airport regulation. Last February, he left that post and returned to ARSAT as a permanent staff employee.
Federal judge of San Isidro Lino Mirabelli and prosecutor Fernando Domínguez conducted a series of raids in May as part of a case that began in 2024 with the theft of ARSAT materials, which evolved into an investigation into bribery payments.
Among the locations raided were two properties belonging to Leal, where investigators seized 2.4 million dollars in cash and coins from other countries; a suitcase containing 19 items for conducting espionage; and drugs: 28 grams of ketamine, 164 grams of crystal MDMA, 72 MDMA pills, 14 grams of cocaine, a cannabis vape pen, and 15 spoons for consumption. An expert report determined that the espionage equipment had not been used for that purpose.
The former official was detained on account of the drugs. In his statement, Leal claimed they were for personal use, and a medical report confirmed his consumption. Judge Mirabelli determined that the quantity could indicate intent to distribute and formally indicted him. He also ruled that the case should continue in the city of Buenos Aires, since the drugs were found in Leal's Palermo apartment, and transferred the case to the Comodoro Py courts.
There, the Federal Chamber confirmed his indictment, and federal judge Sebastián Ramos granted him house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet due to his addiction, determining, based on a report from the Forensic Medical Corps, that the Ezeiza prison was not an appropriate setting for his treatment.
In a parallel development, Leal was summoned to give testimony, along with dozens of other individuals, in connection with the collection of bribes to hire the company Logistic Services (ALS) and obtain a contract to store materials for ARSAT's "Shelter-2 Project" at a warehouse. Seventeen containers were broken into at that location, from which fiber optic cables were stolen—an incident that gave rise to the original case.
The former official was questioned in mid-July and submitted a written statement in which he criticized the judicial investigation and denied having participated in the contracting of the company. In that statement he made no reference to the millions of dollars found in his possession.
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