The hiding of wealth: an Argentinian perspective
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13685200310809455 |
| Pages | 85-87 |
| Published date | 01 January 2003 |
| Date | 01 January 2003 |
| Author | Marcelo J. Ruiz |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
The Hiding of Wealth: An Argentine Perspective
Marcelo J. Ruiz
INTRODUCTION
In Argentina, the issue of the laundering of money
originating from an illicit act has only become the
subject of ®erce debate in the last few years, due to
developments that are in the public domain and
that involve some ®nancial institutions. Likewise,
the acts of the Juarez Cartel, which, according to
information published in December 1999, is highly
suspected of having invested about 13 million drug
deal dollars in Argentina; the dealings of the so-
called `Gold Ma®a', that must have laundered huge
sums of money through false export transactions of
precious metals; and other cases, made people aware
that this problem has aected Argentina for a long
time.
In actual fact, valuable time was lost before the
problem was ocially acknowledged, and there
was a delay in implementing a speci®c law and
clear-cut, stricter security and national defence regu-
lations, since one of the most serious problems in
Argentina is the vulnerability of its borders, such as
those to the north-west and the north-east of the
country. The north-east border, for instance, despite
the commitments assumed under the `Security Plan
for the Triple Frontier' between Argentina, Paraguay
and Brazil, is a matter of concern because, due to its
lack of security, it has become a good arena for
new, very well organised, international criminal
activities and it appeals to drug trackers because
of the ease with which drugs may pass from hand
to hand, and because of the ever-increasing practice
of smuggling.
Initiatives have lately been submitted to take action
against organised crime, with plans to combine the
eorts of the military, Customs, the State Intelligence
Services and the Security Forces, and programmes to
increase controls over drugs brought in and taken out
of the country, mainly by reinforcing monitoring
activities in northern Argentina, an area the experts
consider as `critical'. There will also be controls at air-
ports and ports, as well as active control of companies
working with precursor chemicals. Likewise, it has
been decided to implement action to come to grips
with smuggling, in order to put a stop to the increas-
ing dominance of the black market in items such as
fuel, tobacco or clothing. To achieve that goal, it
will be necessary to upgrade information technology
systems, install radars, and organise training and
re-equipment programmes, with state-of-the-art
technical development.
Money laundering is intimately connected with
drug tracking, since it is its main source, despite
the fact that most legislations around the world,
including the Argentinian, have divided one from
the other and created independent legal rules. Argen-
tina was traditionally considered as a transit country
for drug tracking. This implicitly denied the possi-
bility of money laundering, which keeps an illegal
industry hidden and, from an economic point of
view, represents signi®cant injections of funds
which, moreover, once laundered, remain in
Argentina and provide excellent investment
opportunities.
Its likeness to real industry derives from the fact
that it handles strategic plans, designs action pro-
grammes, uses raw materials (ill-gotten money),
develops the production of goods and services,
performs a process of ®nancial engineering, generates
an end product (money that has been rendered legal),
and uses a means of transport (smuggling and electro-
nic transfers). It represents a true specialisation in all
respects.
Although drug tracking is the main source of
money laundering, other sources have come into
the picture. Tracking in organs, smuggling in
general, arms smuggling etc contribute to money
laundering to an unknown extent.
In particular, the last decade of the twentieth cen-
tury has been marked by the increasing importance
internationally accorded to this kind of crime and
its impact on economic and political systems. For
that reason, the ®ght against money laundering has
gained prominence in the attention of world super-
powers. International agencies have started to point
out to governments, by making suggestions and
proposals, the need to enforce stricter rules and laws
to penalise money laundering.
Within that framework, Argentina has been
making slow progress. The Argentine economy
attracted capital, the sources of which were not thor-
oughly investigated. As a result, there was a business
boom related to the laundering of money of dubious
Page 85
Journal of Money Laundering Control Ð Vol. 6 No. 1
Journalof Money Laundering Control
Vol.6, No. 1, 2002, pp. 85± 87
#HenryStewart Publications
ISSN1368-5201
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