VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBU #1850/01 2571945
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141945Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9256
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6573
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6438
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1500
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ SEP MONTEVIDEO 6766
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0783
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001850
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR INL/PC FOR CCLINE AND NANGHA
DEPT FOR INL/C/CP FOR JOHN BRANDOLINO, ROBERT GIFFORD, DAVID LUNA
AND DIANE Kohn
E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: KCOR KCRM KJUS PGOV PTER SNAR AR
SUBJECT: Argentina's Anticorruption Office:
Many Investigations, Few Results
REF: A) Buenos Aires 01283
B) Buenos Aires 00978
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Despite being ranked 93rd (low) on Transparency
International's corruption perception index, Argentina has an active
anti-corruption office. The office has both a policy-promotion
mission and an investigatory function. Despite a heavy
investigatory workload, the office has yet to convict anyone as a
result of its efforts. The office attributes this failure to
Argentina's slow and cumbersome legal system. The office has
stressed the importance of working bilaterally with the U.S. to
combat corruption. See Ref A for details on the anticorruption
office's request for improved cooperation. END SUMMARY.
--------------------
Structure of the Anti-Corruption Office
--------------------
2. (SBU) The Office of Anti-Corruption (OA), headed by Abel Fleitas
Ortiz de Rozas, was created by law 25,233 in 1999 under President De
la Rua. The Office of Anticorruption, an independent agency under
the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, consists of two parts: an
investigatory arm and a policy and transparency arm. It is
generally a respected organization staffed by professionals and
appears to be free of overt political interference.
3. (SBU) The transparency branch, Direccion de Planificacion de
Politicas de Transparencia (DPPT), is responsible for designing
policies to enhance transparency and deter corruption. Its primary
responsibility is at the national level, but it assists district or
municipal government as well. It also administers financial
disclosure forms for public officials. Nicolas Raigorodsky is head
of the transparency branch (as of June 2007), which works closely
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in addressing corruption issues
in international forums.
4. (SBU) The head of the investigatory branch (Direccion de
Investigaciones (DIOA)) is Martin Andres Moreno. The DIOA is
focused on investigating and presenting cases for prosecution
involving corruption within the federal executive branch or
involving federal funds. The authority relating to use of federal
money does not extend to money transferred to districts. It does
not have authority to investigate allegations at the district or
municipal levels. The office, although nominally a part of the
Judicial branch, does not have authority to independently prosecute
cases, but can refer cases to other agencies or serve as the
plaintiff and request a judge to initiate a case. The office and
its investigators can produce testimony for the courts and introduce
evidence as needed. The DIOA has 35 investigators organized into
five teams, each consisting of a multi-disciplinary team of
lawyers, accountants, and other professionals. It has experienced a
lot of personnel turnover, as many of their employees have been able
to obtain more lucrative offers in the judicial sector, other
government agencies, or the private sector.
-------------------------
Corruption Investigations
-------------------------
5. (SBU) The majority of high profile corruption cases (including
Skanska-REFTEL B) are investigated by individual judges and not by
the corruption office. These judges, however, may request
assistance from the DIOA in gathering or analyzing evidence,
especially when related to complicated financial transactions.
6. (SBU) The 2006 annual report indicated that over 6,000 files
have been opened to date by the OA, with 688 opened in 2006 alone.
Individuals, NGOs, and other government agencies can file complaints
with the OA. The office then conducts a quick investigation to
identify if it meets the criteria of a corruption case (e.g. not
primarily a labor or contract dispute) and that it is a federal
issue. If it meets the criteria it will open a preliminary
investigation to conduct a more thorough review. The OA does accept
and will investigate anonymous tips. The office also has the
authority to initiate investigations based on analysis of financial
disclosure forms filed by federal executive branch officials.
7. (SBU) Despite active investigations, there are few convictions
for corruption charges. The main obstacle seems to be the
ineffective legal system which makes prosecuting complex politically
sensitive cases close to impossible. The office consistently refers
cases (119 in 2006) to the courts or to other agencies (149) for
review. The office claims to have had some success with
administrative penalties related to financial disclosure violations
or similar violations from other agency rules. Both Mr. Fleitas and
Mr. Moreno said that their investigations have been stymied by
Argentina's slow and cumbersome legal system. Corruption
investigations and prosecutions in Argentina take so long that,
according to Dr. Fleitas, Argentina is still prosecuting cases from
the mid-1990s.
------------------------
International Agreements
------------------------
8. (SBU) Argentina has been a very active participant in various
international forums against corruption, such as in the Conference
of State Parties (COSP) related to the United Nations Convention
Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Mechanism for Follow-up on the
Implementation of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption
(MESICIC). Argentina is participating in the pilot review of the
implementation of UNCAC. The Anticorruption office is also in
charge of implementing the checklist reviewing implementation of the
UNCAC.
----------------------------
OA's Perception of Corruption in Argentina
----------------------------
9. (SBU) Mr. Fleitas claims that, while he strongly believes that
corruption is a problem in Argentina, the scale of the problem is
overstated. He notes that the current poor rankings of corruption
indices are worse than they were during the 1990s, when there were a
number of high profile corruption allegations against the
government. He also argues that a review of corruption cases
indicated that the bulk of them stem from mid-level government
officials. He believes that his office has made great strides in
the field of corruption, but that they have been limited by a lack
of resources and personnel. These comments were repeated in our
meeting with Mr. Moreno and seem to reflect the OA's official
position.
KELLY
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