A Hare Krishna Devotee and Businessman, the Link Between Generation Zoe and the Fugitive Former Justice Judge

Twenty years ago, Eduardo Llaser was literally a monk among monks. Part of the Hare Krishna cult, he adopted after being initiated the name Ekanath Gaura das, the name given to him by his teacher and guru, Jayapataka Swami, one of the most renowned in the movement. In the old temple on Andonaegui street in Villa Urquiza, Llaser used to challenge the youngest devotees with a bad temper who neglected order a little, complained about splurges on the kitchen budget, somewhat curmuddy attitudes, but of considerable seriousness.

He had a certain hierarchy within the organization, became the secretary and personal servant of his teacher on world trips, a position of high honor. It distributed thousands of food dishes with the Food For Life program - a cult charity program to feed low-income people - in several countries, including Ukraine.

Later, in parallel to his devotion, Llaser - also a businessman - had another life.

On October 15 of last year, Leonardo Cositorto, leader of Generation Zoe, the conglomerate of firms suspected of committing a massive Ponzi scheme, posted a photo on his Facebook account. “Zoe's legal-accounting team,” he announced. Next to him was Llaser, dressed in a black suit, with a slightly comical smile.

Also in that photo were accountant Norman Prospero. And next to Llaser was Hector Luis Yrimia, a former judge and federal prosecutor turned businessman, self-described as Zoe's “legal director”, with an active membership in public conferences for the group.

Today, Prospero is imprisoned, Cositorto is on the run, Yrimia too. All of them are being investigated by prosecutor Juliana Companys, who is pursuing a case against the group for fraud and illicit association from Villa María, in the province of Córdoba, which already has more than a dozen detainees. Yrimia's office was raided last week by the Federal Police.

So what does Llaser have to do with all this? Did he have a role in the plot, as Cositorto says in the photo? Infobae consulted sources with access to the Companys prosecutor's file to find out if it is under investigation, without receiving a response. For now, the businessman and monk was not called to testify.

One of the doubts in the case is how former judge and prosecutor Yrimia entered the planet Zoe, how he is linked to Cositorto. There are those who say that he entered the hand of Llaser. The daughter of Maximiliano Batista, Generation Zoe's No. 2, was raided last week: they seized a Mercedes Benz. The young lady is also part of the Hare Krishna cult. A source directly linked to the inner circle of the conglomerate says: “Batista's daughter took Llaser. Later, Llaser contacts Yrimia. Yrimia then contacts Norman Prospero. The chain is like this.”

The proof of this chain of links is in the back office of Generation Zoe, the internal system that shows the money and balances of each of those involved. The source gave Infobae screenshots that reveal, for example, Cositorto's balance at one time: 225 thousand pesos, a slightly low number for the group's main preacher. The back office also shows who refers to whom. Llaser's record shows that he was referred by Batista's daughter. Yrimia's shows that he was referred to by the monk, businessman and partner, annotated with his spiritual name. The number is also a little low for Zoe's supposed legal director, barely 760 pesos, hopefully a kilo of milanese.

The link between Llaser and Yrimia is also inscribed in the Official Gazette. Nine days after Cositorto's post, both signed M and M Holding together with other partners, dedicated, according to the BO, to the IT sector. The website of Defense Technologies Security Management, which offers “equipment and training” in areas such as “counterterrorism, ballistic protection, riot control, intelligence gathering” among other areas, with partners such as Motorola, lists the former judge as the “legal director” and Llaser as a “founding partner”.

He even has a small CV from Llaser “with more than 7 years of experience in the Renewable Energy Industry, leading different lines of business for clients in North America, South America and Asia,” says the text, which names him as a “security consultant”.

Near Llaser they say that everything has an explanation, that it is a misunderstanding, that he entered “to put money” and that he “lost like everyone else”, that he never worked for Cositorto or recruit anyone. According to this account, Llaser led Yrimia to do the same, to invest to see if he won, something hard to believe. “What's more, Yrimia didn't see a weight,” they say about the consultant and businessman: “I was as a legal advisor, he comes out in two talks explaining the subject of the trust. He never got into the money. Never. I wanted to clarify how people had the safe money in one place.”

The explanation is hard to believe: hawks don't turn into pigeons because they promise them a few more weights. There is not only Cositorto's post. Llaser was also shown in other photos with the leader. There are several rumors that the security consultant and monk met Cositorto in Dubai, something that Llaser's environment does not respond to.

Meanwhile, Yrimia is loose around the world: Prosecutor Companys called for his international capture last week. Days later, Batista returned to the country from France, after her daughter was raided. His 95-year-old father ended up in the raids against him, ended up being arrested for illegal possession of a gun.

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