Leaders of the Buenos Aires Yoga School in Argentina are facing criminal charges for allegedly coercing members of its organization into prostitution and laundering the profits into real estate.
Juan Percowicz, an 85-year-old accountant, has been the subject of a decades-long investigation by the Argentine government for a series of alleged crimes, including “illicit association, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and money laundering,” according to Noticias Argentinas, a local outlet. Percowitcz, along with over a dozen other members of the Buenos Aires Yoga School, allegedly masqueraded their organization as a spiritual and physical safe haven while allegedly manipulating their members into prostitution, according to Argentinian prosecutors. (RELATED: ‘Playing Offense In Our Backyard’: With Biden’s Eyes Elsewhere, China Slowly Breaks US’ Grip Over Latin America)
The alleged crimes began in the 1990s, but the investigation was paused due to the country’s weak legal frameworks following a dictatorship, according to The New York Times. By the mid-1990s, the Buenos Aires Yoga School had opened businesses in major cities across The United States. Over 50 members of U.S. Congress even submitted a letter to the Argentine government, urging them to cease their investigation against the accused, according to The New York Times. In the early 2000s, the case was reportedly closed with no convictions.
With the improvement of the country’s justice system, new laws have been developed to prosecute the case properly and investigators opened a case over the Buenos Aires Yoga School in 2004, according to The New York Times. “The organization would have operated at least from 2004 until August 12, 2022, when its activity was disrupted through 48 raids. According to the research, it would have a patrimony of at least 50 million dollars, with accounts based in the United States,” the Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release.
Ariel Lijo, a judge on the Supreme Court who was appointed by President Javier Milei, oversaw the case in its initial phase, according to The New York Times. “The people are the same, the decisions are the same, the activities are similar, but there are two very important laws now with big penalties that prohibit the core activities these people were doing,” Lijo said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Argentine President Blasts Socialism In Speech At CPAC)
The New York Times reported the experiences of some of the families of the alleged victims, including one of a young woman who was allegedly pressured into receiving an illegal abortion by the Buenos Aires Yoga School. Her mother recounts that when she questioned her daughter, she replied that the defendant Mr. Percowicz was an “immortal angel.” (RELATED: REPORT: Police Arrest Man For Allegedly Drugging Girlfriend With Abortion Pill)
Noticias Argentinas notes that the Federal Chamber of Cassation affirmed Friday their December 2023 annulment of the case, bringing it to a standstill.
