The journey through public service Andres Vazquezappointed by the President as of today Javier Milei as the owner of the Customs Collection and Inspection Authority (ARCA)was riddled with summaries and trials.
Some have been archived, but at least one remains open: It began a year ago with a presentation by Civic Coalition leaders following an investigation by THE NATION will reveal that Vázquez failed to identify three properties in Miami in his affidavits to the Anti-Corruption Bureau which he would have acquired through companies abroad for more than 2 million dollars.
At this point, Vázquez was already heading the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI), a position he still holds to this day.
The case was filed with the court Daniel Rafecas and the investigation by the prosecutor Carlos Rivolo. However, four months ago the case was handed over to the judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgiin whose court there was – with a difference of only a few hours – a complaint before that of Maximiliano Ferraro And Monica Frade.
As these media were able to reconstruct, Judge Martínez de Giorgi took over the case for his court. Prosecutor Rívolo objected, claiming that his investigation was more advanced, but Judge Rafecas ruled that it was appropriate to send the file to his colleague, respecting an unwritten rule in the courts that complaints with the same subject matter are collected at the first presentation.
At that time, another investigation was initiated, which was initiated ex officio Office of Administrative Investigations (PIA)a special agency of the public prosecutor’s office that investigates administrative irregularities. This file was finally included in the case handled in Comodoro Py, in which, according to judicial sources, measures will be adopted. “The case is not quiet”the sources highlighted.
There are at least two cases in which Vázquez was fired. One was created after the AFIP mega-operation in the offices of the Clusters Clarion in September 2009, when more than 200 agency representatives showed up at the building where the newspaper operated and asked for tax and pension information.
The operation, carried out amid a dispute between the government and the media, was interpreted as an act of terrorism harassment to intimidate those responsible for the company. A court case was opened for abuse of office.
In June 2022, almost 12 years later, the majority of the Federal Chamber confirmed the dismissal of the then head of the debt collection agency, Ricardo Echegaraythat of Vazquez and that of Sergio Mancinia third officer connected to the operation. The AFIP opened an administrative investigation into the latter, which ended without sanctions.
Months later, the judge Ariel Lijo This would close the other case that put the new head of ARCA under the microscope.
The conspiracy began in 2007 when, in connection with another case, the judiciary gained access to a list of people who had moved black money through a financial “den”. BNP Paribas operated in Buenos Aires. The name of Vázquez – the director of the AFIP – appeared there along with that of his sister Silvia, and investigations began into the alleged existence of two undeclared foreign accountsone in Curacao and one in Luxembourg.
The case fell into the hands of the judge Sergio Torreswho decided to fire Vázquez after investigating him and believing that the investigation could not progress. This decision was later overturned by Chamber II of the Federal Chamber on the grounds that evidentiary measures were still pending.
The file was returned to Court 12, which was vacant following Torres’ departure to the Buenos Aires Provincial Supreme Court. In 2022, Lijo, who was deputy, ordered Vázquez’s firing. Not because it was proven that he did not have these bank accounts, but because the authorities of Curaçao, the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were unwilling to respond to Argentine requests.
“Various measures were taken at the local level: information was requested from the AFIP and the FIU; reports were requested from banking institutions, registers and organizations, and various patrimonial and register elements were evaluated,” assessed Lijo. “In addition, the public prosecutor’s office promoted the acquisition of information abroad without being able to reliably prove the current or historical existence of the banking products that would have given rise to the suspicion here.”
“The remaining procedures could advance the progress of the investigation are linked to international cooperationwhich, for reasons beyond the control of this headquarters, could not be carried out with the efficiency necessary to obtain useful evidence,” he explained.
In December 2024, THE NATION It was announced that Vázquez had acquired three properties in the United States for more than $2 million through companies abroad, and the investigation currently underway before the Martínez de Giorgi court began.
Last month, this media reported that Vázquez had for years paid property taxes on three unregistered apartments in the state of Florida using electronic checks made out in his name.
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