while during 2022 and 2023 The lack of foreign currency made provision difficult medical carebraked Industrial imports and strained economic activity, there was a business that would have thrived under the protection of Exchange rate. It was about access to dollars official exchange rateobviously delayed and then thrown into the informal circuit, where their value was significantly higher.
The distance between two quotation marks – official and parallel – is called exchange gapled to one of the most profitable businesses of the time: buying dollars low and selling them high. This maneuver is called in financial jargon “Role”.
Today is the Central Bank is investigating this alleged major operation four administrative summariesin which movements are analyzed for some $1,191 million. The central suspicion is that some of these currencies were purchased at official value and then directed to the USA informal marketusing a complex network of intermediaries.
The investigation by the Central Bank and the FIU into a maneuver with the dollar
The investigation had its origins in the central bank itself and was later expanded Financial Information Unit (UIF) already Office of the Attorney General for Economic Crimes and Money Laundering (Procelac). According to the court case handled by the judge Maria ServiniThe FIU warned that “the manner in which the funds were channeled placed their origin and legality in crisis.”
From the monetary authority they stated that the signs were recognized “They warned against the introduction of what appeared to be a regular mechanism, but whose aim would have been to acquire foreign exchange at the official exchange rate to supply the parallel market.” according to one of the summaries signed during the executive session Santiago Bausili.
According to official documents, the operation would have required an organized structure three key elements: Access to physical dollarsParticipation of Exchange offices and agenciesand a network of end userincluding low-income people.
In this latter group, the BCRA identified cases that raised strong suspicions. For example, a man from 31 yearsBeneficiary of Universal child benefit (AUH) in previous years, who acts as a recipient of a Mutual for $150,000 granted by an examined exchange office. According to the business owner, his tax address is on an unpaved street in Gregorio Laferrere.
The summaries were also recognized common tax residences from various recipients of remittances for hundreds of thousands of dollars, in places like Homemade And Mount Chingolowhich confirmed the hypothesis of the use of give names.
The role of exchange offices
The headquarters’ measures are mainly directed against the authorities Mega Latina, Rooster changes, Arg exchange And Concordia Investments. Overall, the foreign currency turnover is more than $1.1 billion between 2022 and 2023.
In the case of Mega Latina, the BCRA analyzed the operation $466 millionof that $327 million would have been purchased at Bank for Services and Transactions (BST). Gallo Cambios, in turn, concentrated nearby 70% of purchases made by this company.
One of the most sensitive points that headquarters pointed out was that Delivery of dollars in cashwhat caused that Loss of bank traceability. This was pointed out in the summary against Gallo Cambios more than 92% The majority of foreign currency was delivered in banknotes, a fact considered crucial in concluding possible diversion into the informal market.
The third phase of the investigation focuses on the final destination of the currencies. At this point it appears Concordia Investmentsdescribes its summary Transfers in dollars to 53 people between February and April 2023, i.e. in total $9.8 million.
The funds were justified by mutual contractsi.e. loans in dollars. However, the BCRA emphasized this The granting of loans is not permitted for exchange offices and added a relevant piece of information: the amounts transferred were withdraw immediately in cash.
According to the agency, this operation would have allowed the former agency to acquire dollars at the official price and transfer them to third parties outside the regulatory framework. During this time it was The exchange rate gap was around 84.3%.which would have made an estimated profit of $8.3 million In this segment alone, the value is lower compared to the total volume examined.
A suspicious plan
The summaries do not attribute responsibility to the banks, but rather focus on them Exchange agenciesMany of them lost their operating licenses. For the BCRA, the evidence allows us to suspect the existence of one systematic mechanism which exploited the exchange rate mismatch at one of the most critical moments of the dollar shortage.
The case remains open and could escalate to the judicial level while it is analyzed whether the maneuvers were foreign exchange crimes, money laundering or fraud against the regime regulatory.
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