Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The two former UAR employees who were accused of fraud of nearly 3 million Argentine pesos are on the verge of trial. Andres Sánchez and Hernan Blanco are accused of having committed crime against the company by cashing checks with forged signatures.
The pair are near public trial after the Fourth Crime Chamber ratified prosecutions against both for the alleged crimes of “fraud through mismanagement in perfect competition with private use of false documents” and confirmed an embargo for both to have reached 2,847,862 pesos (USD$311,117,70).
The accused worked as an accountant and a purchases manager for the UAR and are reported to have committed the crimes over a ten month period from May 2011 to March 2012. General Manager Damian Díaz brought legal charges against the pair on September 12 2012.
The theft was discovered by the UAR which was moving from being an amateur to a professional organization at the time. The dismissal of Sánchez and Blanco raised fears as to Argentina’s place in the Rugby Championship. President Luis Castillo is considered as having handled the problem well as is the case of his successor, current UAR President Carlos Araujo.
Not only has the UAR won the confidence of SANZAR but it is now an official member and is to enter a professional team in Super Rugby next season. Additional work from the UAR involves the creation of the Americas Six Nations which Argentina’s World Rugby representative, Agustín Pichot is heavily involved in.
