Fraud in Argentine Navy: 645 illegal accreditations worth nearly $1 billion
Federal Justice is investigating alleged fraud in the Argentine Navy's payroll system between 2022 and 2026, involving 645 improper payments to 23 people totalling $981 million.
Federal Justice investigates irregularities in Navy salaries worth nearly $1 billion
Federal Justice opened an investigation into alleged fraudulent manipulation of the Argentine Navy's payroll system, according to somosjujuy.com.ar. An internal audit detected hundreds of transfers that did not correspond to official salary settlements.
According to the complaint filed by the armed force itself, between July 2022 and January 2026, 645 improper accreditations were recorded in favour of 23 people, for a historical total of $981,148,567.88. At the time of the judicial presentation, the outstanding balance to be reimbursed amounted to $938,574,300.25, after some partial returns.
The case was assigned to Federal Court No. 2, presided over by Judge Sebastián Ramos. Federal prosecutor Ramiro González requested initial evidentiary measures to determine the mechanism used and those responsible.
Manipulation of files before submission to Banco Nación
The first irregularities came to light in February 2026, during a review of the January payroll settlement, when unjustified salary supplements were found. Following that discovery, the Navy extended the analysis to earlier periods and verified that the operations had been repeated since 2022.
The investigation established that files generated by the payroll system could be manually modified before being sent to Banco Nación. According to the complaint, amounts were increased for certain beneficiaries and, once payments were processed, internal records could be returned to their original values, so that the differences would not necessarily be reflected in pay slips.
Captain Atanasoff, principal suspect
One of the main subjects of investigation is Navy captain and accountant Ariel Baltasar Atanasoff, who served as head of the Revista Department, the area linked to payroll settlement. According to the administrative investigation, Atanasoff allegedly acknowledged knowing about the accreditations and having carried out operations manually, and reportedly stated that he decided the beneficiaries and the amounts. The determination of his potential criminal responsibility will rest with the courts.
The audit also identified María del Carmen Prieto, Atanasoff's wife and unaffiliated with the armed forces, as one of the principal beneficiaries. According to the complaint, she received 46 accreditations totalling $152,259,495.86.
In total, four individuals with no employment or functional relationship with the Navy allegedly received 184 accreditations for approximately $434.2 million, equivalent to 44.25 per cent of the historical amount detected.
Evidentiary measures and removal of personnel
Prosecutor González requested a series of proceedings to reconstruct the payment circuit: files of military and civilian personnel involved; the roster of those who worked in the Revista Department during the investigated period; information from Banco Nación regarding transfers, dates, amounts and receiving accounts; a computer expert assessment of equipment held by the Navy; and testimony from Mauricio Fernando Borda, a member of the commission that detected the inconsistencies.
The computer expert assessment will be decisive in establishing which users accessed the equipment, which files were modified and when the operations were carried out.
As a preventive measure, the Navy ordered the removal of personnel linked to the areas involved in the payment circuit. The situation of each individual will be resolved both in the administrative inquiry and in the judicial case.
As of the complaint's filing, the force had recorded $42,574,267.63 in refunds. These restitutions do not alter the historical total of the accreditations detected, but allow for establishing how much money was recovered and what the outstanding balance is. The investigation remains open.
Source: Google News AR — Crime