Controversial changes in the body to combat laundering

Directors appointed to six technicians with no experience of discovering illegal operations




The renewal of the controversial intelligence unit (FIU) is ongoing. After the departure of its two top officials and their replacement by an economist without experience in combating money laundering, the Government yesterday appointed six of the seven members of its advisory council, which caused more controversy.



The six new board members also lack experience in detecting money laundering operations, according to rebuild the nation and confirmed two high officials involved in their appointments. Not working in state agencies as required by the law governing the operation of the Unit.



The appointment of magistrates was published in the Official Gazette yesterday. All six share a few characteristics: they all live in the La Plata and all respond to the new owner of the FIU, Jose Sbattella, except one



of them, closer to the justice minister, Julio Alak.



La Nacion Sbattella denied that the appointments have violated the law and defended the "quality" of his team. "These are people with experience and management capacity? Said?. And you can not break a law that came virtually without application, without even apply administrative fines or penalties. Moreover, one can not violate something that is not already running. "



Central Bank (BCRA) was appointed Germain Saller; by the National Securities Commission (CNV), Leonardo Pérez Candreva; by the Ministry of Economy, Mario Camano, for the interior minister, Gustavo Ruben Oliva, for the of Justice, Ricardo Eskenazi, and by the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics (Sedronar), Ricardo Angelucci.



26,119 law says that each one must be "official representative" of the organism to the FIU. But several of them do not integrate the payroll of the respective ministries or even appear in other areas of the state as Anses.



The case chosen by the Sedronar is even more controversial. By law must be "an expert on issues related to money laundering. But Angelucci lacks experience, knowledge or studies in the field, as probed La Nacion. In recent years he served as undersecretary of production, and Buenos Aires before, as director for the province of Buenos Aires in the Central Market. From there he went after a confrontation with the Domestic Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno, which included a beating from thugs in his office.



Angelucci account, however, with backups of worth. Besides sharing Sbattella efforts at the Institute of Fiscal and Economic Studies (IEFE), there are few who say the deputy governor Alberto Balestrini or up to Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo, among its sponsors.



Saller also joined the ranks of IEFE, and with Perez Candreva collaborated in writing a book on theory and macroeconomic policy. They were also part of the economic group against the lockout, which was formed in full bid with producers for retention agrocupecuarios phones. The first one went further and published in a column Página/12 in December 2007, telling about his position: "What complains the field?"