Head of Argentina’s nuclear power plant company resigns amid corruption allegations

Demián Reidel resigned as the head of Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, the state-owned company that manages the country’s three nuclear power plants, amid corruption allegations. A spokesperson for the company told the Herald that Reidel filed his resignation on Monday, during Nucleoeléctrica’s shareholder meeting, but that it had been agreed upon days before.  Juan Martín Campos, a manager of uranium products manufacturer Dioxitek, was appointed as the new president of the company. The rest of the board, except for the titular director Diego Chaher, was also removed. The news comes one week after the resignation of two managers of the company, both appointed by Reidel. General manager Marcelo Famá and administrative coordination manager Hernán Pantuso had been targeted by an internal complaint stating that Nucleoeléctrica had paid 1,000% more than originally budgeted for a software service and 140% than market prices for a cleaning service. Around the same time that the complaint became public, local media also reported that Reidel had accumulated debts of AR$880 million (US$ 605,500) with a high risk of insolvency on January 12 and paid it in whole just 18 days later. Reidel contested the accusations by posting heavily redacted documents on X. Two weeks ago, the Herald reported that the suspension of the two managers was the latest of several indications that Reidel was losing his grip on the company and his influence in the government. On top of that, in December, the national administration created the Nuclear Affairs Secretariat and appointed Federico Ramos Nápoli as its head. Ramos Nápoli is close to presidential advisor Santiago Caputo, who is at odds with Reidel’s ally Karina Milei, the president’s secretary general and sister. After Reidel’s resignation, Ramos Nápoli posted on X that he was “pleased” to announce the meeting to appoint the new board, “whose mandate will be to maintain the highest standards of safety and operation, complete the incorporation of private capital, and finalize the life extension of Atucha I.” Like the new president of Nucleoeléctrica, he was part of Dioxitek, the uranium products manufacturer. Ramos Napóli did not name Reidel in his post. The newly-created secretariat absorbed some of the tasks of the National Commission of Atomic Energy (CNEA), which at the time was led by Germán Guido Lavalle, appointed by Reidel. Reidel has also been the target of criticisms among workers in the country’s nuclear institutions, who accuse him of slashing budgets and salaries, as well as terminating signature projects. In September, the government announced it would privatize 44% of Nucleoeléctrica. A controversial figure The ousted president of the company is a controversial figure in the government. In a summit where he tried to attract U.S. Big Tech companies to install their Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers in Patagonia, he said that the region’s problem is that it “is populated by the Argentinians.” He recently co-authored an article with President Javier Milei, who said that the two of them would win the Nobel Economics Prize. Reidel had also served as Milei’s head advisor, a position from which he resigned last year. Back then, he said he was leaving “to fully concentrate, as president of Nucleoeléctrica, on the development of the Argentine Nuclear Plan.” His plan, announced in 2024, is a joint venture between a foreign investor and INVAP, a state-owned company. It aims to build Argentina’s first small modular reactor (SMR), called the ACR-300, to power AI data centers. However, in 2014, Argentina’s National Commission of Atomic Energy (CNEA) had started construction on CAREM, an SMR developed entirely in the country. Shortly after taking office in December 2023, Milei slashed its funding and its construction — which was about 85%  complete — ground to a halt. Due to the pay freeze in the state’s nuclear sector, some engineers previously employed by the government — including some working on the CAREM — are flocking to Meitner, the company founded to build the ACR-300, sources close to the matter told the Herald. While some workers in the country’s nuclear institutions celebrated his ousting, others posited that the dismantling and privatization plan for the company is still in place.