Tax fraud in grain trade: 23 arrested and 85 premises searched in $10 million fraud investigation
The DFI dismantled a grain trading fraud scheme that allegedly generated false VAT refunds of $10 million. There are 23 arrests following 85 searches in six provinces.
Federal operation dismantles tax fraud network in grain market
Twenty-three people were arrested and 85 premises were searched across six provinces in an investigation into tax fraud estimated at $10 million, according to argentina.gob.ar. The operation was carried out by the Special Investigations Department (DFI) of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA).
The case is being heard by National Court for Economic Crimes No. 2, presided over by Judge Gustavo Darío Meirovich, with the involvement of the National Prosecutor's Office for Economic Crimes No. 7, headed by Dr Gabriela Ruíz Morales.
The investigation originated from a complaint filed by the Collection and Customs Control Agency (ARCA-DGI), which identified 59 taxpayers allegedly linked to irregular transactions in the grain trading market.
According to the investigation, the scheme allegedly consisted of simulating purchase and sale transactions to generate fictitious withholdings in the Withholding Control System (SICORE) and obtain improper refunds of Value Added Tax (VAT). The total estimated amount of transactions under investigation comes to $10 million.
DFI personnel, dependent on the Superintendence of Federal Investigations of the PFA, carried out field operations, open-source intelligence analysis (OSINT) and documentary analysis to identify the natural and legal persons involved.
Judge Meirovich ordered the search of 85 premises in Rosario and General López (Santa Fe), Villaguay (Entre Ríos), Sarmiento and the capital of Santiago del Estero, the city of Córdoba, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and Escobar (Buenos Aires).
As a result of the procedures, in addition to the 23 arrests, 10 vehicles, 55 mobile phones, 15 notebooks, 13 computers, 3 tablets, 3 netbooks and 3 external storage devices were seized. Also seized were 15,433,100 Argentine pesos, 78,205 US dollars, 7,715 euros and 1,000 Chilean pesos, along with documentation of interest to the case.
The accused, all Argentine nationals and of legal age, have been placed at the disposal of the judge presiding over the case. They face charges for alleged violations of the Tax Penal Regime and other offences under Law No. 27.430 and the Penal Code of the Nation.
Source: Google News AR — Crime