The name of Fernando Cerimedo – who according to various accounts began his career driving a taxi in Mar del Plata before becoming an influential figure in Latin American right-wing political circles – appears in Argentine corporate records alongside former members of the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE).
This article is based on research published by the La Justa media outlet. Various hypotheses persist about Cerimedo’s background: whether he acted as an intelligence agent, as alleged by Nadia Beller, a victim of an attempted femicide who accuses him of hiring hitmen to silence her; whether he built his wealth by brokering business deals with the state in Argentina and Bolivia; or whether he ultimately became absorbed into power structures beyond his control.
Whatever the interpretation, the available documentation places him close to the spy agency’s former senior leadership.
Link to Majdalani
In interviews over the past two weeks, Nadia Beller spoke of a business associate of Cerimedo whom she referred to as “Vicente.”
According to Beller’s account, Cerimedo was involved with Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, his wife and other people in businesses involving petrol, diesel and gold, and received payments through contracts negotiated by companies in countries where he ran political campaigns.
Beller alleged “Vicente” laundered money from these businesses and mentioned companies belonging to Natalia Basil, Cerimedo’s ex-wife (it is unclear if they are divorced or separated, but they are no longer together) that were linked to gold and hydrocarbons.
The associate is Vicente Federico Quintanal, who appears alongside Cerimedo in Compañía Sudamericana de Inversiones SA, incorporated in April 2024, and Surlibre Inversiones SA, established in May of the same year.
Both companies are registered at 1438 Tucumán Street, second floor, office 202. Quintanal is also a partner of Basil in Patagonia Energy Holding SA and Australis Energy Group SRL, companies operating in the energy sector.
According to Beller, these firms are allegedly linked to the handling of fuel entering Bolivia from Argentina.
Quintanal also appears to be connected to the husband and son-in-law of Silvia Majdalani, former deputy head of SIDE under ex-president Mauricio Macri, through Hollybar SA.
Established in 2015, Hollybar SA appointed Quintanal as a director in 2021 and, in 2022, added Francisco José Olivero Majdalani, the former official’s husband, and Julián Giménez, her son-in-law and former private secretary at SIDE. The company then registered its address as 1438 Tucumán Street – the same address shared by several companies belonging to Quintanal with Cerimedo and Basil.
Another of Quintanal’s business associates, Santiago Sanz, with whom he runs the real-estate company Fevisa SRL, is in turn a partner with Santiago Manuel Nosiglia, son of Enrique ‘Coti’ Nosiglia, in Espacio Nube SRL. Both companies share an address at 315 Perón Street, third floor, office 14.
Richarte, Gallea, Szpolski and Stiuso
A second web of connections links Cerimedo and Basil to Oscar Ramón Giménez, a figure who has ties to Darío Richarte, Juan José Gallea and Sergio Szpolski.
Richarte served as intelligence secretary under former president Fernando de la Rúa; Gallea was SIDE’s finance director during that administration and later held financial positions at Grupo Veintitrés and at the agency under Gustavo Arribas and Silvia Majdalani. Szpolski headed Grupo Veintitrés and has been publicly linked to infamous spymaster Antonio ‘Jaime’ Stiuso.
At the end of 2022, Basil and María Liliana Palazzo established National Security Enterprise SRL (NSE), which had its registered address at the Chateau Puerto Madero, where Cerimedo lived. In 2023, the company shifted its corporate purpose towards private security and, in 2024, Basil and Palazzo transferred their stakes to Héctor Eduardo De Diego and Tomás Federico Beltrame, who is linked to Numen and Madero Media Group.
That year, NSE opened a branch in Santa Cruz and registered as a state supplier. It subsequently began providing services to the Río Gallegos Regional Hospital. In 2025, Oscar Ramón Giménez joined the company and eventually acquired almost all of its shares. The company then expanded its corporate purpose to include cybersecurity.
Cerimedo remains linked to NSE: he was involved in registering the company with the Argentine Chamber of Security and Investigation Companies (CAESI), a process in which an email address belonging to Numen Publicidad was recorded.
Giménez is listed as a director of several companies associated with Richarte, Gallea and Szpolski. When he took control of NSE, the company registered its address as 5990 Avenida del Libertador, fourth floor, office 404, an address that also appears repeatedly in companies linked to that group.
In April this year, Szpolski’s return to the media became known, as he took operational control of FM Vale 97.5, which was owned by Grupo Indalo, through Radio Productora 2000. That same day, Giménez became chairman of its board. He is also chairman of Durby SA, a security company historically associated with Szpolski, and sits on the boards of Magnum Sabores Argentinos SA and Panificadora Balcarce SA, which is linked to Szpolski, Gallea and Richarte.
Stiuso’s wife previously worked at the latter as head of occupational health and safety, and her closeness to Szpolski has been noted by various publications.
Network spanning sectors
The convergence of these corporate links around figures from Argentina’s intelligence system, despite their differing political backgrounds, raises questions about the continuity of these networks across successive administrations.
Shared addresses, cross-holdings and contracts with the state form a web that extends beyond any single administration and warrant investigation by the relevant authorities.
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by Natalia Volosin, Perfil
