Macri defends Argentina's spy chief after alleged link

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's president defended the country's spy chief on Tuesday after a news report linked him to the biggest corruption scandal in Brazil's history.

The local newspaper La Nacion reported last week that Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht paid spy chief Gustavo Arribas nearly $600,000 in 2013 through a black market money dealer who has accepted a plea bargain. La Nacion alleged the money was deposited in a Swiss bank account.

President Mauricio Macri said in a press conference Tuesday he doesn't understand the alleged link between Arribas and Odebrecht, and the spy chief will explain it when he returns from vacation next week.

The federal intelligence agency that Arribas leads has denied the reports, saying that Arribas only received $70,000 as part of a real estate deal in Brazil, where he lived at the time. Arribas was involved in the transfer of soccer players and was not a government official back then.

Odebrecht is one of the companies embroiled in the so-called "Car Wash" investigation into an alleged kickback scheme at the state-run Petrobras oil company. The scandal has led to the arrest of dozens of business leaders and politicians.

In late December, Odebrecht and petrochemical company Braskem agreed to pay a combined penalty of at least $3.5 billion to settle allegations that they bribed government officials in a dozen countries around the world.