MOSCOW, May 18 (RAPSI) – Lawyers of former Argentine’s president Cristina Kirchner have filed an appeal against launch of a criminal case against her related to currency interest rate futures trade conducted by the country’s Central Bank, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.

On May 13, Judge Claudio Bonadio launched a criminal case against Kirchner, former minister of economy Axel Kicillof and ex-head of Argentine’s Central Bank Alejandro Vanoli. The judge believes that interest rate futures trade caused harm to the government. The arrest was issued on the property of each defendant with the sum of arrest being set as $1,000,000.

According to investigators, in 2015 the Central Bank of Argentine, a formally independent financial institution, conducted currency interest rate futures trade at the rate of 10 pesos to the dollar despite the fact that the real exchange rate on the stock exchange in New York was 14-15 pesos. In December new President Mauricio Macri devalued the currency which resulted in official rate of 15 pesos to dollar.

Judge Bonadio believes that such measures could not have been taken without approval of ex-president or the minister of economy.