Overview

• The National Economic Criminal Court No. 4 ordered the processing of Minera del Altiplano and former president Luciano Mancuso for alleged export contraband tied to 146 lithium carbonate shipments between June 2022 and October 2023.
• The ruling cites declared prices 30% to 45% below market benchmarks and an expert estimate of more than $200 million in fiscal harm.
• The judge imposed a preventive embargo of 100 billion pesos on each defendant, ordered a travel ban, and notified the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Central Bank to enforce asset restraints.
• Mancuso was deemed a co-author based on a special power to act on customs matters, and the court described the invoicing used in the transactions as ideologically false.
• The company argues the exports passed customs controls under the SIM system, prices reflected long-term contracts, and it already paid AFIP fines exceeding 5.3 billion pesos, while the court held that administrative penalties do not preclude criminal proceedings.