Grido owner acquitted of illegal tax association due to Milei money laundering laws

2024-08-17 13:06:16

All governments have passed money laundering laws and tax holidays. The purpose is to obtain funds by declaring black assets or profits; or by repaying tax debts in exchange for exemption or reduction of interest. Everyone wins: state coffers are strengthened, and parties that don’t comply don’t face major sanctions.

The outcome of the Greedo case on Friday showed that It only means profits for those who are accused and acquitted Illegal Tax Association. Neither the state nor society will see a single weight of their proposed compensation because TOF2 accepted the defense’s suggestion, applied the most merciful law and settled Defendant dismissed due to conclusion of criminal proceedings.

This is how he solved it majority vote The Federal Oral Court 2 (TOF2) presented the defense proposal of the owners of Helacor SA, a company selling Grido, Oscar Lucas, Sebastián and Lucas Santiago ice creams, and applied the most merciful law.

A judicial investigation into the businessman’s tax evasion began more than a decade ago when it was discovered that half of the company’s sales had been invoiced in black. The period covers 2007 to 2012.

In 2022, they admitted their crimes and agreed to pay $2 million to the Treasury Department.

Another criminal figure accused by the company’s owners is awaiting trial: an illegal tax association.

Lucas Santiago. When the most merciful criminal law applies, it is dismissed by TOF2. The $240 million offered to social entities as damages was invalid.

The trial is planned to take place in TOF2 this year. Gramática Bosch’s defense lawyers proposed an alternative measure, so-called “repair of damage”. They offered to pay $240 million to be distributed among social organizations. The proposal was accepted by the Attorney General’s Office, led by Carlos Gonella.

There are three options: the construction of the first Solidarity School Kitchen at the Córdoba Food Bank Foundation, the implementation of the Beruti School Project in Barrio Müller or any other social project determined by the court.

A hearing was held on June 14, where the proposal crystallized.

When the votes for the tribunal composed of Carolina Prado, Noel Costa and Fabián Asís began to circulate, the defenders presented a new proposal . That was July 29 last year. at that time They demand retroactive application of money laundering laws It was approved by the current government headed by Javier Milei (27,743) and the regulatory decree (608/2024) was issued on July 12.

They noted that both statutes provide for tax incentives and the elimination of criminal conduct There are also those charged with common tax crimes.

Afip’s lawyer Elisa Diez and TOF2’s previous attorney general Carlos Gonella both rejected the proposal. The latter considers that the regulatory decree exceeds its limits, since it goes beyond the text of the law approved by Congress and incorporates figures for illegal tax nexus in cases not mentioned in the general rules, which is why he considers the decree unconstitutional.

Deeds said the payment by the defendants did not mean a full discharge of the debt.

vowel Carolina Prado y Noel Costa – They voted together – responded: “At this point, the unconstitutional proposal put forward by the representative of the Prosecutor’s Office cannot be accepted, because it does not change the principle of legality and the prohibition of regulations determines the “essence”.” The meaning of the prohibited matter, that is, it defines itself as illegal and beyond the norm.

They also explained that previous payments exceeded the repayment of Afip’s debt.

Prado and Costa subsequently agreed to apply the money laundering law approved by this administration because it was the mildest and the only situation in which the rules could be applied retroactively.

Minority vote. vowel, Jose Fabian AssisI don’t agree with everyone’s views. Like his counterparts in court, he argued that the regulatory statutes of the Money Laundering Act actually exceeded its limits by bringing illegal tax-linked criminal figures within the scope of the Act, something that had never happened to date. And the prosecutor’s office rejected the possibility of suspending the trial through compensation.

Among the arguments presented by Asís: “In the present case, there is a paradox in that, having accepted the ‘regime of voluntary externalization of foreign currency at home and abroad’ and receiving the agreed benefits upon payment, they subsequently sought to do so without regulating any obligation or payment of any money – as they no longer owe any tax as a result of the charges in this case – extending the tax amnesty law to types of offenses that do not have a determinate property content, such as being an illegal tax association.

Regarding his refusal to pay compensation to expunge the criminal proceedings, he explained: “The unlawful financial connection is consistent with the seriousness and complexity of the facts which prevent the application of an alternative solution beyond the financial return it would have brought – or not – For the defendants, they cannot be considered minor or moderate criminal cases.

In summary, TOF2 solves most problems:

1-Make room for proposals to apply milder criminal laws retroactively.

2- Announcing the termination of criminal proceedings for illegal financial connections and the dismissal of Oscar Lucas Santiago, Lucas Santiago and Sebastian Oscar Santiago.

3- Statement of full indemnity against damages summary.

The prosecutor’s office and AFP will ask the Federal Court of Criminal Appeal to review the sentence.

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