TITLE: Argentina's Financial Information Unit Imposes Fines on Currency Exchange Operator for Anti-Money Laundering Violations
BODY:
On November 1, 2022, Argentina's Financial Information Unit (Unidad de Información Financiera, UIF) issued a resolution imposing administrative sanctions against Cambio Internacional S.A., a currency exchange operator, and two of its administrators for serious violations of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations.
The UIF found Cambio Internacional S.A., along with administrators Joaquín Rafael Ledesma and Sergio Eduardo Guillén, responsible for multiple breaches of Law 25,246 and UIF Resolution 121/2011. The violations included deficiencies in the entity's AML/CTF procedures manual, absence of formal staff training programmes, inadequate customer identification and due diligence procedures, and failure to report suspicious transactions. Most significantly, the UIF determined that the entity failed to report six foreign currency purchase operations totalling 8.712 million pesos conducted by a client between March and June 2016, which lacked adequate documentation and appeared inconsistent with the client's stated business activities.
The administrative proceeding, initiated in 2017, involved a formal investigation where the entity and its administrators were afforded due process rights, including the opportunity to present defences and evidence. The UIF rejected arguments that violations were moot due to the entity's October 2016 request to cease operations, noting that compliance obligations existed at the time of the Central Bank of Argentina's inspection.
The UIF imposed total fines of 8.882 million pesos, comprising: 50,000 pesos for manual deficiencies; 60,000 pesos for lack of training; 60,000 pesos for customer identification failures; and 8.712 million pesos (equivalent to the value of unreported operations) for failure to report suspicious transactions. The same sanctions apply to both the legal entity and its administrators under joint and several liability provisions.
Payment must be made within ten days through the Public Administration Collection System. The resolution exhausts administrative remedies, and parties may appeal to federal administrative courts within thirty days.