Head of the PROCELAC watchdog against financial crimes Carlos Gonella has accused a company linked to supermarket giant Carrefour Argentina of illicit association, unauthorized financial mediation and money laundering, in charges connected with undeclared operations on the markets.
The criminal complaint came in the midst of another day of raids carried out at the request of the Central Bank to combat the foreign currency black market. Those searches, as reported to ámbito.com, occurred in the northern part of Greater Buenos Aires.
Gonella’s accusation places the INC S.A company, whose commercial activity is known through Carrefour Argentina, at the head of operations which allegedly divert «a massive flow of funds into informal banks,» with transactions estimated at «4 billion pesos in the last two years» channeled through different firms.
The PROCELAC chief moved following a preliminary investigation carried out by the body’s Operative Capital Market Area, itself stemming from a Central Bank request. The entity had detected irregularities during an inspectation carried out last September in exchange office Transcambio.
That inspection revealed violations of the Penal Exchange Regulations, but also evidence of criminal activity, at which the Central Bank passed the information over PROCELAC to begin its own preliminary investigation.
Today’s raids, meanwhile, focused on two addresses in North Buenos Aires. In both authorities found evidence of unauthorised exchange operations, while 411,000 pesos, 11,500 US dollars, 2,250 reais and 265 euros were confiscated.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald