The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, reported this Tuesday that, as he promised at the beginning of his management in front of the portfolio, he presented complaints ” once morest companies that carried out fraudulent maneuvers of overinvoicing imports using foreign companies and banks” for 12 million dollars. The companies reported are NRG Argentina S.A., which operates in Vaca Muerta, and MARDG S.A.S. and taking legal action once morest other firms is not ruled out.
The news was confirmed by the head of the Palacio de Hacienda on Twitter, where he stressed that it is “very important news, striving for greater transparency.”
“In this way, and by order of justice, The exchange of information between the FIU and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) of the United States begins to investigate in an articulated and coordinated manner these crimes that harm the National State,” the official remarked.
According to the complaint, MARDG SAS and NRG Argentina SA and their directors -Damián Strier, Oscar Cesar Darío Guercio, Norberto Oriola, Karina Cantafio, Pablo Marull- are accused of having “applied to the economic and financial market profits of presumed spurious origin, obtained from through maneuvers of overinvoicing imports, by means of which they would have improperly sent foreign currency abroad”.
The judicial presentation was made on Friday, August 12, before the National Economic Criminal Court No. 2. The document indicates that the Ministry of Economy is notified of these alleged irregularities through a complaint dated June 23 made by the Department of Imports from the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) and accuses the companies for the alleged “import smuggling aggravated by the use of apocryphal documentation, through maneuvers of overinvoicing imports and money laundering from the profits obtained from carrying out these illicit activities”.
The investigation
Through the same judicial document, the Ministry of Economy requested the Central Bank to send information on the currency transfers that would be linked to the companies within a period of three days. In addition, the DGA was asked to submit data on how eight import destinations were registered with the customs service abroad, in cooperation with US Customs.
At the same time, the AFIP Criminal Planning Directorate was required to report within three days if any taxpayer related to NRG Argentina and MARDG SAS externalized assets.
“Control abuses in imports”
Upon taking office as minister, Massa had promised to “control abuses in imports” since they have “detected situations of abuse by companies through triangulation mechanisms, with underinvoicing of exports and overinvoicing of importsthat is to say, that they appropriated the dollars that SME companies often ask for machines or citizens ask for medicines or health equipment or other important purposes”.
On that occasion, he announced that a registration for 60 days “so that they rectify their position before the Customsperhaps understanding that maybe they simply made a mistake.” The mechanism, which was found in 13,000 operations of 722 companies, consisted of “buying products at one price, passing it through another destination and bringing it overcharged to Argentina.”
After 60 days have elapsed, Massa assured on that occasion, “we are going to make the pertinent complaints in the Argentine justice of those cases that are not presented to clarify or rectify. But also We are going to file a complaint with the United States Anti-Money Laundering Unit for money laundering.since banks from that country were used and therefore the headquarters of the financial domicile determines jurisdiction”.
