The Criminal Foreign Exchange Regime and the most favorable law

On July 28, 2009, the Argentine Supreme Court of Justice (the “Supreme Court”) ruled in the case “Docuprint S.A. s/ infr. Ley 24.144”[1] (“Docuprint.”) by rejecting the decision of the Criminal Court of Appeals for Economic Matters of the City of Buenos Aires, which had rejected Docuprint’s defense for the late transfer to Argentina and sale in the foreign exchange market (the “FX Market”) of the proceeds from an export of goods. The Supreme Court ruled that regulations adopted by Governmental agencies that extend the terms to transfer to Argentina and sell in the FX Market the foreign currency proceeds from exports, necessarily modify an essential element of the foreign exchange crime as defined under the Criminal Exchange Regime Law No 19,359. In such cases, the Supreme Court provided that the most favorable statute is applicable whenever such terms are extended, instead of the one current at the time of the infringement.

Thus, the Supreme Court extended the opinion already established in the “Cristalux S.A.”[2] precedent, in which the application of the most favorable statute analyzed was related to the enactment of Decree No 530/1991, whose Section 1 had ended in 1991 the obligation to transfer to Argentina and sell in the FX Market all foreign currency proceeds from exports of goods and services.

[1]  Argentine Supreme Court, D. 385 XLIV, 07/28/2009, “Docuprint S.A.”

[2]  Argentine Supreme Court, 04/11/2006, “Cristalux S.A.”. Please see “The Criminal Foreign Exchange Regime and the most favorable law principle” published in Marval News # 50, May 31, 2006.