Overview
- A coordinated wave of searches unfolded on Dec. 29–30 across banks, currency houses and private homes, with police seizing documents, electronic devices, cash and firearms.
- Judge María Servini led more than 60 simultaneous raids tied to purchases of up to about US$1.4 billion in 2023, while Judges María Eugenia Capuchetti and Sebastián Casanello ran parallel operations.
- Casanello ordered searches at the Banco Central headquarters and at five inspectors’ residences to examine possible complicity or negligence in authorizations during the currency controls.
- Targets included the Banfield home of the mother of Sur Finanzas owner Ariel Vallejo, whose firm is a focal point of the case, as well as sites in La Plata and the Banco Masventas branch in Salta.
- The investigation stems from a UIF complaint based on BCRA reports that flagged a circuit approaching US$1 billion and led to major fines against Gallo Cambios, Mega Latina and Concordia Inversiones, with BST cited as a dollar provider; inquiries also reference financier Elías Piccirillo, and no AFA officials have been charged.