News in Anti- Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Regulations

1.    Establishment of new restrictions on securities transactions

Through General Resolution 554, the Argentine Securities Commission (the Comisión Nacional de Valores or “CNV”) provided that broker-dealers and other securities intermediaries that are subject to its oversight can only participate in securities transactions if they are ordered or executed by parties which are registered or domiciled in jurisdictions that are not included in the list of tax havens included in Decree No 1344/98 (which regulates the Income Tax Law).

Resolution 544 provided also that, in the case of parties registered or domiciled in jurisdictions that are not included in such list, but that act as intermediaries of securities’ markets under the supervision of an agency similar to the CNV, securities transactions are allowed only if such agency has signed a memorandum of mutual understanding, cooperation and exchange of information with the CNV.

In addition, the Argentine Central Bank issued Communication “A” 4940, which provides that non-residents of Argentina must obtain the prior approval of the Central Bank in order to purchase foreign currency in the exchange market to repatriate investments when the beneficiary of such repatriation is an individual or an entity registered or domiciled in a jurisdiction listed as a tax haven in Decree No 1344/98.

2.    The UIF confirms the obligation to comply with applicable anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulations for transactions qualifying under Law No 26,476

Through Resolution No 137/2009, the Financial Information Unit (the Unidad de Información Financiera or “UIF”) ratified that none of the provisions of Law No 26,476 (aimed at promoting tax compliance and disclosure of assets) release those who are required to implement “know-your-customer” policies and report suspicious transactions under Section 20 of Anti-Money Laundering Law No 25,246 (the “Obligated Entities”) from adopting all applicable measures and prevention policies against money laundering and terrorism financing. 

As such,, the Obligated Entities should continue to carry out all the obligations contemplated in Law No 25,246 and in the resolutions issued by the UIF for each category of Obligated Entities, including identifying and collecting evidence about the source of the funds that are being disclosed under Law No 26,476 to verify that they are related to the activity declared by the customer.