The Council of the Judiciary dismissed a senior official for self-increasing his salary.

The National Council of the Judiciary dismissed a key official on Tuesday after it was discovered that, as head of the agency's Human Resources department , he had paid himself substitutes, as if he were a judge, and had also used pension contributions for a percentage lower than the percentage established for his position. He was in charge of the agency's general sub-administration and Human Resources department. The decision was made by the Administration and Finance Commission, which also ordered an evaluation of criminal complaints against him.

To defend himself, Federico Vincent appointed José Manuel Ubeira, Cristina Kirchner's lawyer in the case of the attempted assassination of the former president.

The sanction fell on Vincent, who once rose to become one of the most powerful officials in managing the Judiciary's budget and resources. He joined the courts in 1996 as an assistant and joined the Council of the Judiciary after its creation. He rose through the ranks to become head of the Judiciary's Human Resources Department and, at the same time, of the Council's general sub-administration. It was precisely his self-serving mishandling of decisions in this area that has now ended his career.

In parallel, Vicent has a complaint of alleged sexual harassment against an employee.

The decision was voted on by the members of the Financial Administration Committee, chaired by Sebastián Amerio, Deputy Minister of Justice and representative of the National Executive Branch, and embodied in two resolutions that were notified to all council members.

At the end of last year, the Council ordered an investigation. A group of auditors made progress on that analysis last February, issuing statements and issuing reports on six cases opened against him for various misconduct.

What was he accused of? One of the charges was for having modified the retirement deduction percentage in his favor. As the highest authority in the General Administration, due to the vacancy of his head, and Director General of Human Resources, the official himself ordered his subordinates to modify the retirement deduction that had historically been made from his salary.

This resulted in an additional increase of $6,932,807 in his final salary as of May 2024. He did so without following any procedure, without excusing himself, without a legal opinion to support it, and while a response he himself had generated was still pending, according to judicial sources. This stipulated that, instead of deducting 18 percent as a retirement withholding, as is the case with judicial officials' salaries, the deduction would be 11 percent, with a cap. Martin Culaciati, Vincent's deputy in the Human Resources Directorate, was also investigated for this incident.

Another accusation against him involved allowing or facilitating two judicial officers to evade the child support payments they were legally required to pay . According to the case file, he paid them overtime in separate accounts, without any valid reason. The Audit Corps found that "Dr. Federico Arturo Vincent, then in charge of the General Directorate of Human Resources, allegedly engaged in arbitrary and discretionary management of the office." He also alleged that he "made decisions and gave instructions that could harm third parties, in the case of minors whose best interests are constitutionally protected, as well as the interests of the Judicial Council, affecting its transparency, contrary to the principles of public ethics."

The list of indictments also includes the improper collection of a surrogacy supplement. From March 2020 until April 30, 2022, Federico Vincent received surrogacy amounts in his capacity as Director General of Human Resources, with a direct financial benefit, given that it represents 33% more than his salary. From that date on, he received the same percentage, but in the position of Clerk of the Supreme Court until the end of February 2024. Strictly speaking, surrogacy is provided for judges when they fill a vacant position. Here, the prosecution points out that there was no administrative provision by the competent authority to authorize the collection of this supplement in favor of Vincent, nor did he assume the position of Clerk of the Court that would justify this decision for his own benefit.

Vincent was also investigated for claiming to represent the Council of the Judiciary in the eviction case brought against the Council of the Judiciary by three federal courts in Morón. The official appeared in the case and requested an "urgent" hearing, without having the authority to do so, and subsequently presented "a financial proposal" to the plaintiff.