The national government appointed this Tuesday Andres Edgardo Vazquez as the new Managing Director of the Customs Collection and Control Agency (ARCA), replacing Juan Alberto Pazo, who submitted his resignation from the position. The appointment was formalized by Decree 890/2025, published in the Official Gazette, and stipulates that Vázquez will assume his duties starting Thursday, December 18, to complete a legal term.
Pazo’s departure came after the official informed the economy minister. Luis Caputo, his decision to return to the private sector. Based on that decision, the executive branch moved forward with the appointment of Vázquez, an accountant with more than 35 years of experience in the debt collection agency formerly known as the Federal Public Revenue Administration (AFIP).
Career in debt collection
Andrés Vázquez developed most of his professional career within the former AFIP, where he held various hierarchical positions for more than three decades. During this trip he worked in areas related to tax inspection and reconnaissance, becoming a reference figure within the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI).
In December 2024 the President Javier Milei appointed him head of the DGI, one of the central bodies of the tax collection system. This decision came in an internal context marked by changes in the structure of the organization and led, a few days later, to the departure of Florencia Misrahi, then head of the AFIP.
According to the administrative background during his career Vazquez maintained differences with various hierarchical superiors and underwent internal investigations and legal proceedings. In none of these cases was it removed from its functions and remained within the structure of the organism.
Judicial and regulatory investigations
The new managing director of ARK The judiciary is investigating him in various cases relating to alleged economic crimes. These include investigations into possible illicit enrichment, money laundering and tax evasion based on the ownership of assets abroad that would not have been reported to Argentine control organizations.
In December 2024, the newspaper La Nación published one Investigation It documented that Vázquez had purchased three properties in the United States for an amount of more than $2 million through companies incorporated abroad. According to this publication, these properties were not listed in the asset affidavits submitted to the Anti-Corruption Office (OA).
Based on this information, the Office of Administrative Investigations (PIA) initiated a preliminary investigation to analyze the official’s financial situation and determine whether there were any irregularities in the performance of his duties as a civil servant.
Corporate structure abroad
According to the journalistic investigation, the structures used to acquire the properties included a company registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which acted as controller for two other companies registered in the British Virgin Islands Panama. These companies would have been used as a vehicle to purchase the condominiums in the City of Miami.
The properties are listed in official documents from approxMiami-Dade Countywhich contains real estate tax payments for the years 2014 to 2018. According to the documents cited, these payments were made through checks made out in Vázquez’s name during a period in which he was already a senior AFIP official.
These events would not have been reported to him anti-corruption office, Body responsible for checking the affidavits of assets of public officials.
History of undeclared accounts
It is not the first time that Vázquez’s name has been linked to financial transactions abroad. In 2011, he was accused of controlling a bank account in Turkey with his sister Silvia Mónica Vázquez ING Bank NV of the island of Curacao, with a balance of $442,113.
According to the complaint, the funds were transferred to an account in the United States in July 2006 BNP Paribas Bank of Luxembourg. This operation would not have been reported to the Argentine Ministry of Finance, leading to a criminal investigation.
The case was closed in 2022 with the dismissal of Vazquezafter federal judge Ariel Lijo received no response from the authorities of Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Curaçao confirming the existence of the accounts under investigation. Given the impossibility of moving forward with evidentiary measures, the judge decided to close the investigation.
Government position on investigations
After the journalistic investigation was published in December 2024, the then presidential spokesman stated, Manuel Adorni, He referred to the case during a press conference. On that occasion, he claimed that Vázquez had already been fired by Judge Lijo in connection with the real estate transactions, describing the matter as “a matter of the past.”
Despite these statements, the appointment of Vázquez as head of the DGI triggered internal repercussions within the government. The appointment decree was signed only by President Javier Milei and the then Minister of Security. Patricia Bullrich. Neither Chief of Staff Guillermo Franco nor Economy Minister Luis Caputo were involved in the administrative act. Florencia Misrahi, who headed the AFIP at the time, also did not sign the decree.
Changes in judicial investigation
In September this year, as part of the related investigation Miami real estate, There was a change in the way the court file was kept. At the request of Vázquez’s defense, federal judge Daniel Rafecas decided to remove the prosecutor handling the case.
The investigation was referred to the Federal Court Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi and was placed under the intervention of Federal Prosecutor Guillermo Marijuán. The decision was taken despite the opposition of the prosecutor Carlos Rívolo, who until then had been in charge of the case, who had indicated that the investigation was at an advanced stage and that various evidentiary measures were in progress.
Acceptance in ARCA
With the publication of Decree 890/2025, Vázquez will take over the management of ARCA to complete the corresponding term by law. The organization concentrates key functions related to tax collection, customs control and monitoring of economic operations in the context of institutional restructuring promoted by the national government.
The designation is while Administrative and judicial investigations remain open linked to the official’s assets, the results of which have not yet been determined by the intervening organizations.
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