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### Viewing cable 08BUENOSAIRES1635, ARGENTINA 2008-2009 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08BUENOSAIRES1635 | 2008-12-02 09:09 | 2011-04-10 00:12 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Buenos Aires
Appears in these articles: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1364384-el-temor-oculto-del-gobierno-a-nuevos-actos-terroristas

`

    VZCZCXYZ0005
    OO RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHBU #1635/01 3370905
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    O 020905Z DEC 08
    FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2588
    INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

` `

    UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001635

    SIPDIS
    SENSITIVE

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: EFIN KCRM KTFN SNAR AR
    SUBJECT: ARGENTINA 2008-2009 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL
    STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) PART II, MONEY LAUNDERING AND FINANCIAL
    CRIMES

    REF: STATE 103810

    This cable contains draft-sensitive information.  Not for internet
    distribution until fully cleared.

    ¶1. (U) Per reftel, Post provides following draft of 2008-2009 INCSR
    II report on money laundering and financial crimes for Argentina.

    ¶2. (SBU) Begin Text:

    Argentina:

    Argentina is neither an important regional financial center nor an
    offshore financial center. Money laundering related to narcotics
    trafficking, corruption, contraband, and tax evasion is believed to
    occur throughout the financial system, in spite of the efforts of
    the Government of Argentina (GOA) to stop it. The financial sector's
    strong recovery from the 2001-02 financial crisis and post-crisis
    capital controls may have reduced the incidence of money laundering
    through the banking system. However, transactions conducted through
    nonbank sectors and professions, such as the insurance industry,
    financial advisors, accountants, notaries, trusts, and companies,
    real or shell, remain viable mechanisms to launder illicit funds.
    Tax evasion is the predicate crime in the majority of Argentine
    money laundering investigations. Argentina has a long history of
    capital flight and tax evasion, and Argentines hold billions of
    dollars offshore, much of it legitimately earned money that was
    never taxed.

    In 2007, the Argentine Congress passed legislation criminalizing
    terrorism and terrorist financing.  Law 26.268, ""Illegal Terrorist
    Associations and Terrorism Financing,"" entered into effect in
    mid-July. The law amends the Penal Code and Argentina's anti-money
    laundering law, Law No. 25.246, to criminalize acts of terrorism and
    terrorist financing, and establish terrorist financing as a
    predicate offense for money laundering.  Persons convicted of
    terrorism are subject to a prison sentence of five to 20 years, and
    those convicted of financing terrorism are subject to a five to 15
    year sentence. The new law provides the legal foundation for
    Argentina's financial intelligence unit (the Unidad de Informacisn
    Financiera, or UIF), Central Bank, and other regulatory and law
    enforcement bodies to investigate and prosecute such crimes.  With
    the passage of Law 26.268, Argentina also joins Chile, Colombia, and
    Uruguay as the only countries in South America to have criminalized
    terrorist financing.

    On September 11, 2007, former President Nestor Kirchner signed into
    force the National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism
    Finance Agenda.  The overall goal of the National Agenda is to serve
    as a roadmap for fine-tuning and implementing existing money
    laundering and terrorist financing laws and regulations.  The
    Agenda's 20 individual objectives focus on closing legal and
    regulatory loopholes and improving interagency cooperation. The
    ongoing challenge is for Argentine law enforcement and regulatory
    institutions to continue to implement the National Agenda and
    aggressively enforce the strengthened and expanded legal,
    regulatory, and administrative measures available to them to combat
    financial crimes.

    Argentina's primary anti-money laundering legislation is Law 25.246
    of May 2000 (although money laundering was first criminalized under
    Section 25 of Law 23.737, which amended Argentina's Penal Code in
    October 1989). Law 25.246 expands the predicate offenses for money
    laundering to include all crimes listed in the Penal Code, sets a
    stricter regulatory framework for the financial sectors, and creates
    the UIF under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.  The law
    requires customer identification, record-keeping, and reporting of
    suspicious transactions by all financial entities and businesses
    supervised by the Central Bank, the Securities Exchange Commission
    (Comisisn Nacional de Valores, or CNV), and the National Insurance
    Superintendence (Superintendencia de Seguros de la Nacisn, or SSN).
    The law requires similar reporting by designated self-regulated
    non-financial entities that report to the UIF.  The law forbids
    institutions to notify their clients when filing suspicious
    transaction reports (STRs), and provides a safe harbor from
    liability for reporting such transactions.  Reports that are deemed
    by the UIF to warrant further investigation are forwarded to the
    special anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance
    prosecution unit of the Attorney General's Office.

    Law 26.087 of March 2006 amends and modifies Law 25.246 to address
    many previous deficiencies in Argentina's anti-money laundering
    regime. It makes substantive improvements to existing law, including
    lifting bank, stock exchange, and professional secrecy restrictions
    on filing suspicious activity reports; partially lifting tax secrecy
    provisions; clarifying which courts can hear requests to lift tax
    secrecy requests; and requiring court decisions within 30 days. Law
    26.087 also lowers the standard of proof required before the UIF can
    pass cases to prosecutors, and eliminates the so-called ""friends and
    family"" exemption contained in Article 277 of the Argentine Criminal

    Code for cases of money laundering, while narrowing the exemption in
    cases of concealment. Overall, the law clarifies the relationship,
    jurisdiction, and responsibilities of the UIF and the Attorney
    General's Office, and improves information sharing and coordination.
     The law also reduces restrictions that have prevented the UIF from
    obtaining information needed for money laundering investigations by
    granting greater access to STRs filed by banks. However, the law
    does not lift financial secrecy provisions on records of large cash
    transactions, which are maintained by banks when customers conduct a
    cash transaction exceeding 30,000 pesos (approximately U.S. $9,000).

    In September 2006, Congress passed Law 26.119, which amends Law
    25.246 to modify the composition of the UIF. The law reorganized the
    UIF's executive structure, changing it from a five-member
    directorship with rotating presidency to a structure that has a
    permanent, politically-appointed president and vice-president. Law
    26.119 also established a UIF Board of Advisors, comprised of
    representatives of key government entities, including the Central
    Bank, AFIP, the Securities Exchange Commission, the national
    counternarcotics secretariat (SEDRONAR), and the Justice, Economy,
    and Interior Ministries. The UIF legally must consult the Board of
    Advisors, although its opinions on UIF decisions and actions are
    nonbinding.

    The UIF has issued resolutions widening the range of institutions
    and businesses required to report suspicious or unusual transactions
    beyond those identified in Law 25.246. Obligated entities include
    the tax authority (Administracisn Federal de Ingresos Publicos, or
    AFIP), Customs, banks, currency exchange houses, casinos, securities
    dealers, insurance companies, postal money transmitters,
    accountants, notaries public, and dealers in art, antiques and
    precious metals. The resolutions issued by the UIF also provide
    guidelines for identifying suspicious or unusual transactions. All
    suspicious or unusual transactions, regardless of the amount, must
    be reported directly to the UIF. Obligated entities are required to
    maintain a database of information related to client transactions,
    including suspicious or unusual transaction reports, for at least
    five years and must respond to requests from the UIF for further
    information within a designated period. As of September 2008 the UIF
    had received 4,032 reports of suspicious or unusual activities since
    its inception in November 2002, forwarded 491 suspected cases of
    money laundering to prosecutors for review, and collaborated with
    judicial system investigations of 155 cases of suspected money
    laundering.  There have been only two convictions for money
    laundering since it was first criminalized in 1989 under Article 25
    of Narcotics Law 23.737 and none since the passage of Law 25.246 in
    ¶2000.  A third money laundering case brought under Law 23.737 is
    pending before Argentina's Supreme Court.

    The Central Bank requires by resolution that all banks maintain a
    database of all transactions exceeding 30,000 pesos, and submit the
    data to the Central Bank upon request. Law 25.246 requires banks to
    make available to the UIF upon request records of transactions
    involving the transfer of funds (outgoing or incoming), cash
    deposits, or currency exchanges that are equal to or greater than
    10,000 pesos (approximately U.S. $3200).  The UIF further receives
    copies of the declarations to be made by all individuals (foreigners
    or Argentine citizens) entering or departing Argentina with over
    U.S. $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments.  These
    declarations are required by Resolutions 1172/2001 and 1176/2001,
    which were issued by the Argentine Customs Service in December 2001.
    In 2003, the Argentine Congress passed a law that would have
    provided for the immediate fine of 25 percent of the undeclared
    amount, and for the seizure and forfeiture of the remaining
    undeclared currency and/or monetary instruments.  However, the
    President vetoed the law because it allegedly conflicted with
    Argentina's commitments to MERCOSUR (Common Market of the Southern
    Cone).

    Although the GOA has passed a number of new laws in recent years to
    improve its AML/CTF regime, Law 25.246 still limits the UIF's role
    to investigating only money laundering arising from seven specific
    or ""predicate"" crimes. Also, the law does not criminalize money
    laundering as an offense independent of the underlying crime.  A
    person who commits a crime cannot be independently prosecuted for
    laundering money obtained from the crime; only someone who aids the
    criminal after the fact in hiding the origins of the money can be
    guilty of money laundering.  Another impediment to Argentina's
    anti-money laundering regime is that only transactions (or a series
    of related transactions) exceeding 50,000 pesos (approximately U.S.
    $16,000) can constitute money laundering. Transactions below 50,000
    pesos can constitute only concealment, a lesser offense.

    In 2006 and 2007, the National Coordination Unit in the Ministry of
    Justice, Security, and Human Rights became fully functional,
    managing the government's AML/CTF efforts and representing Argentina
    at the FATF, the Financial Action Task Force for South America
    (GAFISUD), and the OAS CICAD Group of Experts.  The Attorney
    General's special prosecution unit set up to handle money laundering

    and terrorism finance cases began operations in 2007.  Although the
    Argentine Central Bank's Superintendent of Banks has not created a
    specialized anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance
    examination program as previously considered, in 2008 it began
    specific anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance
    inspections of financial entities and exchange houses.

    Argentina's Narcotics Law of 1989 authorizes the seizure of assets
    and profits, and provides that these or the proceeds of sales will
    be used in the fight against illegal narcotics trafficking. Law
    25.246 provides that proceeds of assets forfeited under this law can
    primarily be used to fund the UIF. Argentine courts and law
    enforcement agencies have used the authority to seize and utilize
    assets on a selective and limited basis, although complex procedural
    requirements complicate authorities' ability to take full advantage
    of the asset seizure provisions offered under these laws.

    Prior to the passage of terrorist financing legislation in June
    2007, the Central Bank was the lead Argentine entity responsible for
    issuing regulations on combating the financing of terrorism. The
    Central Bank issued Circular A 4273 in 2005 (titled ""Norms on
    'Prevention of Terrorist Financing'""), requiring banks to report any
    detected instances of the financing of terrorism. The Central Bank
    regularly updates and modifies the original Circular. The Central
    Bank of Argentina also issued Circular B-6986 in 2004, instructing
    financial institutions to identify and freeze the funds and
    financial assets of the individuals and entities listed on the list
    of Specially Designated Global Terrorists designated by the United
    States pursuant to E.O. 13224. It modified this circular with
    Resolution 319 in October 2005, which expands Circular B-6986 to
    require financial institutions to check transactions against the
    terrorist lists of the United Nations, United States, European
    Union, Great Britain, and Canada. No assets have been identified or
    frozen to date. The GOA and Central Bank assert that they remain
    committed to freezing assets of terrorist groups identified by the
    United Nations if detected in Argentine financial institutions.

    In December 2006, the U.S. Department of Treasury designated nine
    individuals and two entities that provided financial or logistical
    support to Hizballah and operated in the territory of neighboring
    countries that border Argentina. This region is commonly referred to
    as the Tri-Border Area, between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The
    GOA joined the Brazilian and Paraguayan governments in publicly
    disagreeing with the designations, stating that the United States
    had not provided new information proving terrorist financing
    activity is occurring in the Tri-Border Area.

    Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of
    Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Argentina has established
    a Trade Transparency Unit (TTU). The TTU examines anomalies in trade
    data that could be indicative of customs fraud and international
    trade-based money laundering. One key focus of the TTU, as well as
    of other TTUs in the region, is financial crime occurring in the
    Tri-Border Area. The creation of the TTU was a positive step towards
    complying with FATF Special Recommendation VI on terrorist financing
    via alternative remittance systems. Trade-based systems often use
    fraudulent trade documents and over and under invoicing schemes to
    provide counter valuation in value transfer (hawala) and settling
    accounts.

    The GOA remains active in multilateral counternarcotics and
    international AML/CTF organizations. It is a member of the
    Organization of American States Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
    Commission (OAS/CICAD) Experts Group to Control Money Laundering,
    the FATF and GAFISUD. The GOA is a party to the 1988 UN Drug
    Convention, the UN International Convention for the Suppression of
    the Financing of Terrorism, the Inter-American Convention against
    Terrorism, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,
    and the UN Convention against Corruption. Argentina participates in
    the ""3 Plus 1"" Security Group (formerly the Counter-Terrorism
    Dialogue) between the United States and the Tri-Border Area
    countries. The UIF has been a member of the Egmont Group since July
    2003, and has signed memoranda of understanding regarding the
    exchange of information with a number of other financial
    intelligence units. The GOA and the USG have a Mutual Legal
    Assistance Treaty that entered into force in 1993, and an
    extradition treaty that entered into force in 2000.

    With passage of counter-terrorist financing legislation and
    strengthened mechanisms available under Laws 26.119, 26.087, 25.246,
    and 26.268 Argentina has the legal and regulatory capability to
    combat and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
    Furthermore, the new national anti-money laundering and
    counter-terrorist financing agenda provides the structure for the
    Government of Argentina to improve existing legislation and
    regulation, and enhance inter-agency coordination. The ongoing
    challenge is for Argentine law enforcement and regulatory agencies
    and institutions, including the Ministry of Justice, Central Bank,
    UIF, and other institutions to implement fully the National Agenda
    and aggressively enforce the newly strengthened and expanded legal,

    regulatory, and administrative measures available to them to combat
    financial crimes. The GOA could further improve its legal and
    regulatory structure by enacting legislation to expand the UIF's
    role to enable it to investigate money laundering arising from all
    crimes, rather than just seven enumerated crimes; establishing money
    laundering as an autonomous offense; and eliminating the current
    monetary threshold of 50,000 pesos (approximately U.S. $16,000)
    required to establish a money laundering offense. To comply fully
    with the FATF recommendation on the regulation of bulk money
    transactions, Argentina should review ways to do so consistent with
    its MERCOSUR obligations. Other continuing priorities are the
    effective sanctioning of officials and institutions that fail to
    comply with the reporting requirements of the law, the pursuit of a
    training program for all levels of the criminal justice system, and
    the provision of the necessary resources to the UIF to carry out its
    mission. There is also a need for increased public awareness of the
    problem of money laundering and its connection to narcotics,
    corruption, and terrorism.

    End Text.

    WAYNE

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