Doing Business In Argentina

an opinion on whether construction of the plant violated a 1975 Argentine-Uruguayan
treaty dealing with its shared river. A decision is expected in 2008.
Corruption Return to top
Government corruption and private sector business fraud are sometimes the subjects of
complaints from some U.S. investors. They also argue that their adherence to the letter
of the tax and regulatory codes at times places them at a competitive disadvantage.
Transparency International (TI) has a local chapter in Argentina. In the latest TI
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) that ranks countries and territories by their perceived
levels of corruption, Argentina ranked 105 out of 180 countries and territories, below the
average among Latin American countries. Transparency International’s 2007 Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI) can be found at
http://transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2007. Such surveys have
contributed to more open debate in Argentina about corruption and fraud. There are
indications that the GOA is trying to reduce tax evasion by stepping up enforcement
efforts and encouraging the use of credit card purchases while at the same time using
the media to increase public awareness of tax obligations and to shame evaders. While
Argentina’s growing economy has contributed substantially to the government of
Argentina’s solid fiscal performance, anti-evasion efforts played a key role in the federal
government’s record tax collections of about 200 billion pesos in 2007, up from around
163 billion in 2006 and 150 billion in 2005.
In 2007, a major corruption investigation involving alleged bribe payments by employees
of a foreign multinational corporation working on a gas pipeline expansion project to
government authorities was widely reported in the press. Also in 2007, a federal
congressman denounced an attempt by a foreign multinational to pay a bribe in
exchange for supporting legislation favorable to the company's future business. Media
reports that the Foreign Ministry plans to take this latter case to the OECD Anti-
Corruption Committee.
Argentina is a party to the OAS Anti-Corruption Convention and ratified the OECD Anti-
Corruption Convention in 2001. Argentina has signed and ratified the UN Convention
Against Corruption (UNCAC). It is an active participant in UNCAC’s Conference of State
Parties and is participating in the pilot review of the implementation of UNCAC. It is also
an active participant in the Mechanism for Follow-up on the Implementation of the Inter-
American Convention Against Corruption (MESICIC). The government has regulations
against bribery of government officials, but many observers feel that enforcement is
uneven. An anti-corruption office under the Ministry of Justice reviews the financial
disclosure statements that are now required of all senior public officials. The Anti-
Corruption Office (ACO) also carries out investigations into cases of alleged corruption
involving Executive branch officials or in matters involving federal funds, except for funds
transferred to the provinces. Although nominally a part of the judicial branch, the ACO
does not have authority to independently prosecute cases, but can refer cases to other
agencies or serve as the plaintiff and request a judge to initiate a case. Most high-profile
corruption cases, however, are investigated by individual judges. These judges,
however, may request assistance from the ACO in gathering or analyzing evidence,
especially when related to complicated financial transactions.
3/4/2008