Argentina’s Central Bank (Photo: Rubén)
Bonadio, who is overseeing the case, ordered the search to collect documentation for all operations dealing with the sale of future dollars. The raid lasted close to two hours and occurred during normal working hours.
Judicial proceedings leading to the raid began a little more then a week ago. Opposition legislators Federico Pinedo (PRO) and Mario Negri (UCR) presented a complaint alleging that Alejandro Vanoli, president of the BCRA, made future contracts at a peso to dollar conversion that was far less then the actual speculated rate. Pinedo calculated that these contracts cost Argentina an estimated $25bn, and he accused Vanoli and the BCRA of public fraud.
Following the initial complaint, Vanoli explained that future contracts are made to “provide certainty and avoid volatility in the foreign exchange.”
In response to the raid yesterday, representatives of the Central Bank reiterated Vanoli’s point and asserted that all actions surrounding the sale of future dollars are “absolutely transparent” and “in agreement with the regulations of the Central Bank’s charter.”
Today, Judge Bonadio came under fire for conducting the raid only five days before the presidential run-off election. The Central Bank and several government officials claimed from the onset that the complaint was politically motivated to slander the current administration and, by association, presidential hopeful Daniel Scioli.
Current Cabinet Chief, Aníbal Fernández, went on the attack saying, “This has to do with the election in five days…it is a shame.”
Alejandro Vanoli mirrored this sentiment, claiming the raid “is a political manoeuvre that serves the opposition within a week of the elections.”
Meanwhile, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner published an extensive statement about the measure, criticising the timing of the raid and its impact on the Central Bank’s daily functions.
Judge Bonadio defended his actions, telling radio host Ernesto Tenembaum, “What we did yesterday [the raid] is part of an average day’s work. I have to secure evidence, I can not wait until after the election.”
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