Argentine ex-minister De Vido held on corruption charges

Julio De Vido, 67, controlled huge sums of money as planning minister

Argentina's former Planning Minister Julio De Vido has handed himself in to the authorities after he was stripped of his parliamentary immunity.

Mr De Vido is facing corruption charges, which he denies.

He was a key political figure from 2003 to 2015 during the governments of presidents Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Néstor Kirchner.

His arrest is a blow to ex-President Fernández, who has herself been accused of corruption.

Close ally

Mr De Vido is the most powerful politician from Ms Fernández's cabinet to have been arrested over alleged corruption.

Mr De Vido (R) served in the governments of Cristina Fernández and her husband, Néstor Kirchner.

During his time as planning minister he handled billions of dollars worth of government investment in energy infrastructure programmes.

Among other charges, he is suspected of embezzling money from a project aimed at revamping the Río Turbio coal mine in Patagonia.

Little of the ambitious project ever materialised and the mine continues to underperform.

Mr De Vido was elected to Argentina's Chamber of Deputies in 2015 and as a lawmaker enjoyed immunity from prosecution.

But in a rare move, the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday voted to strip the former minister of his immunity.

Police did not find Mr De Vido at his home but he later handed himself in to the authorities in Buenos Aires.

Mr De Vido was not at home when the authorities came to call

He has been taken to the top security Ezeiza prison outside the capital.

His arrest came just days after mid-term elections which saw Ms Fernández elected to the Senate but with far fewer votes than she had hoped to obtain.

As a senator, Ms Fernández will have immunity from prosecution for the duration of her six-year term in office.

She is suspected of illicit association and fraudulent administration.

Mr De Vido is not the first member of Ms Fernández's cabinet to be arrested.

Last year, public works minister José López was detained after allegedly trying to hide millions of dollars in cash in a monastery.