Daniel Petrone, an Argentinean Criminal Judge with a jurisdiction in economic cases, dismissed charges against Claudio Uberti, who was the director of the Argentinean Road Concessions Monitoring Agency (Occovi) under Néstor Kirchner's government, for lack of evidence.

Uberti was removed from his position because of his involvement in the so-called suitcase scandal, where Venezuelan businessman Guido Antonini Wilson tried to smuggle USD 800,000 into Argentina in a suitcase, in August 2007.

Therefore, Uberti -who was the highest-ranking Argentinean officer on board the plane where Antonini brought the cash-filled suitcase- eluded his indictment in a money laundering case, reported Argentinean daily La Nación.

Petrone's decision does not put an end to Uberti's case, as prosecutor María Luis Rivas Diez may challenge the ruling and appeal Petrone's decision.