Economic criminal law is one of the most technical fields in the Argentine criminal justice system: it combines Penal Code offenses with a dense web of special laws, the criminal tax regime, the criminal foreign exchange law, the Customs Code, anti-money-laundering regulations, corporate criminal liability, and requires accounting, tax, and international commercial transaction expertise.
We assist in investigations for tax evasion, money laundering, smuggling, criminal tax conspiracy, foreign exchange violations, and corporate criminal liability cases. We work in coordination with accountants, experts and economic consultants to build a defense combining legal and accounting-factual elements.
Simple evasion: willful omission of taxes above the statutory threshold. Aggravated: by amount, use of intermediary persons, fraudulent use of exemptions or refunds, or concurrence with other offenses.
Fraudulent obtaining of subsidies, refunds, recoveries, rebates, or other tax benefits.
Association of three or more persons to commit tax crimes. A frequent charge in complex investigations requiring careful defense.
Unlawful retention of taxes (collected VAT, source withholdings) or social security contributions.
Money laundering consists of the conversion, transfer, management or concealment of assets derived from a criminal offense, with the aim of giving them the appearance of lawful origin. It is an autonomous offense independent of the predicate crime. Investigations typically involve PROCELAC (the Economic Crime and Money Laundering Prosecution Unit) and the UIF (Financial Information Unit). We defend in cases involving complex asset analysis, international transactions and judicial cooperation.
The main offenses are simple and aggravated smuggling (arts. 863 and 864), attempted smuggling, inaccurate declarations, concealment of smuggling, improper use of exemptions and special regimes. These are investigated by the Federal Economic Criminal Court, with the involvement of the General Customs Directorate.
Since 2018, legal entities may be criminally charged for bribery, influence trafficking, dealings incompatible with public office, false financial statements, and other specified offenses. Corporate defense requires designing and implementing compliance programs and meeting adequacy criteria that the Law provides as mitigating or exculpatory factors. We assist both in defending the accused legal entity and in the preventive design of compliance programs.
I received notice of a tax evasion charge. What should I do first?
Immediate technical analysis of the charge with accounting support. Many evasion cases have a solid defense when excusable error, statute of limitations, or defects in the prior administrative determination are demonstrated.
Does tax regularization prevent criminal proceedings?
Art. 16 of the criminal tax regime provides for the extinction of criminal action upon payment: regularization before a certain procedural stage can close the criminal case. Each situation must be analyzed individually.
Can an asset freeze in a criminal economic case be lifted?
Yes. Through precautionary measures, partial lifting or substitution by equivalent guarantees can be requested. This is a technical negotiation with the judge and the prosecution.
Can my company be criminally convicted?
Yes, since Law 27.401, for the specifically listed offenses. The defense requires a differentiated strategy for the legal entity and the individual accused persons.
What is a compliance program and what is it for?
It is the system for preventing and detecting irregularities within the company. Its existence and effectiveness are mitigating factors or, in certain cases, grounds for exemption from corporate criminal liability.