Claudio Cirigliano

Sergio Claudio Cirigliano is an Argentinian businessman who, with his brother Mario, operates major rail and bus concessions in Buenos Aires and elsewhere in Argentina through the Grupo Plaza conglomerate. One source has described the brothers as making up “one of the most powerful business groups in the country.”

Cirigliano and his brother were widely held responsible for the deadly Once railway disaster in February 2012, which occurred on one of the railway lines that they ran, because they had allegedly pocketed government subsidies intended to cover maintenance costs. Grupo Plaza was said to have been awarded concessions for rail and bus lines because of Cirigliano's close friendships with Presidents Carlos Menem, Nestor Kirchner, and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Also, Cirigliano was accused of having bribed Secretaries of Transportation Ricardo Jaime and Juan Pablo Schiavi, who directly oversaw the awarding of rail and bus concessions. Later in 2012, both Cirigliano and his brother Mario went on trial on charges of corruption and fraudulent administration in connection with the Once crash.

La Nación described him as the “successful driver of the K line,” the “K” being a sardonic reference to his close connections to the Kirchner family.

Cirigliano is the son of Nicola Cirigliano, who was born in Vaglio Basilicata, Italy, and moved to Argentina at age 18. After working as a laborer and truck driver, Nicola borrowed money from a friend and bought a bus route. This was the beginning of a transport firm, originally called Transporte Automotor Plaza, which he founded in 1959. Claudio, born in 1964 or 1965 (in September 2009, he was 44 years old), was Nicola's last-born son. Claudio grew up in Parque Patricios and studied at a technical college.

After completing his studies, Cirigliano went to work in the family business. In 1975, for health reasons, Nicola handed over the management of his business to Claudio and his two other sons. At that time the family owned a few passenger buses for an urban line namely the two bus lines, 61 and 62.

Claudio Cirigliano's friendships with presidents Carlos Menem and Nestor Kirchner played a crucial role in the growth of the family business, winning the Ciriglianos more and more concessions and subsidies. One source attributes their success largely to their ability to form “strategic ties with shifting political powers.” The Cirigliano brothers have been described as being “forever friends of power,” whose business was created and maintained through government subsidies. Claudio's closeness to Menem is reflected in the fact that he was part of the entourage that accompanied Menem on his first visit to the UK. In the 1990s, the two men played golf together frequently.

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