VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #2612/01 3262134
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 222134Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6569
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 002612 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FBI PASS TO OIO AMERICAS UNIT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KTER AR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S NOVEMBER 20 MEETING WITH ARGENTINE 
JUSTICE MINISTER IRIBARNE 
 
REF: BUENOS AIRES 2581 
 
Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C)  Summary.  On November 20, the Ambassador paid a 
courtesy call on Argentine Justice Minister Alberto 
Iribarne to discuss ways to strengthen U.S.-Argentine 
cooperation on law enforcement, judicial reform, and 
anti-corruption issues.  Iribarne noted that money 
laundering and terrorism finance are areas of common 
concern and provided an update on GOA efforts to strengthen 
its regulatory regime in both areas.  The Ambassador 
offered to continue judicial exchanges between U.S. and GOA 
officials, as well as assistance to organize a seminar on 
best practices to fight corruption.  Stressing the 
importance of building international coalitions on efforts 
to combat terrorist acts such as the 1994 AMIA bombings, 
the Ambassador offered to reach out to other governments on 
Interpol's Executive Committee to encourage them to support 
the GOA's request for arrest warrants/Red Notices and urged 
the GOA to do the same.  Iribarne expressed appreciation for 
U.S. cooperation in the 
GOA's efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice, and 
stressed that the GOA wanted to handle the issue quietly. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Update on GOA Efforts to Meet FATF Requirements 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. (C)  On November 20, the Ambassador paid a courtesy call 
on Argentine Justice Minister Alberto Iribarne to discuss 
ways to strengthen U.S.-Argentine cooperation on law 
enforcement, judicial reform, and anti-corruption issues. 
Iribarne was accompanied by Secretary of Justice Marcela 
Losardo.  Iribarne thanked the Embassy for its excellent 
cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, particularly in 
the area of judicial assistance.  He noted that money 
laundering and terrorism finance are areas of common 
concern and provided an update on GOA efforts to strengthen 
its regulatory regime in three areas of concern identified 
by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June: 1) 
applying the money laundering law passed in March; 2) 
presenting a national strategy to combat money laundering 
and terrorism finance; and 3) to submit counterterrorism 
finance legislation by February 2007.  Iribarne stated that 
the MOJ had just nominated Rosa Catalina Falcuto to head 
the GOA's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).  After Falcuto 
is vetted through a public nomination process similar to 
that used to vet nominees for the Supreme Court, Iribarne 
intends to submit her name to the President along with the 
MOJ's national strategy to combat money laundering by 
year's end.  He further explained that the FIU will have a 
Council of Advisors with interagency representation 
including the Federal Administration of Public Income 
(IRS-equivalent), the Central Bank, the National Securities 
Commission (SEC-equivalent), and Secretariat for the 
Prevention of Drug Addiction and the Fight Against Drugs 
(SEDRONAR; Drug Czar-equivalent), as well as the Ministries 
of Justice, Interior, and Economy. 
 
------------------------ 
Counterterrorism Finance 
------------------------ 
 
¶3. (C)  When asked about the status of the GOA's terrorism 
finance legislation, Iribarne replied that the Ministry of 
Public Affairs and the Attorney General's office are 
currently reviewing the draft law.  The law would 
criminalize both terrorism itself and terrorism finance. 
(COMMENT:  The draft law, however, does not criminalize 
material support for terrorist activities.  END COMMENT.) 
The Ambassador noted that Argentina has always done an 
excellent job in terms of practical cooperation on efforts 
to combat money laundering and terrorism finance, but that 
there was a gap in the judicial framework.  Introducing and 
passing legislation that criminalizes terrorism finance and 
terrorism would address this gap.  Noting that FATF has 
monitored this issue very closely, the Ambassador expressed 
hope that the GOA will introduce legislation to combat 
terrorism finance prior to FATF's February deadline. 
Iribarne stated that he hoped to submit the draft law to 
Congress this year, but assured Ambassador that the GOA would 
at the very least introduce the bill before the February 
deadline.  (Note:  Congress has extended the current session 
through December 29, and then goes on break through about 
 
March 1.  It is worth noting that President Kirchner can and 
has called extraordinary sessions in February while, 
technically, bills can be submitted during periods when the 
Congress is not in session.  End Note.) 
 
--------------- 
Judicial Reform 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Turning to a discussion of GOA judicial reform, the 
Ambassador noted having read articles about prison inmates 
going on strike to protest the amount of time it takes to 
go to trial.  Iribarne explained that suspects are often 
held in pre-trial detention for long periods of time due to 
the Courts' overwhelming caseload.  Another problem 
associated with lengthy delays in conducting trials is that 
judges often have to throw out cases because they have 
reached the statute of limitations. 
 
¶5.  (C)  The Ambassador then asked about the status of 
Argentina's transition to an accusatory judicial system. 
Iribarne noted that the transition began ten years ago and 
has advanced considerably, particularly in the provinces. 
The GOA's goal is to implement the system at the federal 
level.  At present, federal judges still have control over 
the judicial process.  The GOA is looking to transfer 
investigative responsibilities over to the prosecutors as 
well as introduce reform that would allocate more resources 
to prosecutors.  He asserted that today's political 
environment is much more amenable to these reforms than it 
was ten years ago.  The GOA's gradual implementation of 
judicial reform has helped build capacity and prepared the 
ground for a full transition to an accusatory system.  For 
example, the judge assigned to the AMIA bombing case has 
delegated the investigative role to the case's chief 
prosecutor Alberto Nisman.  In this manner, prosecutors 
have learned how to investigate cases.  The Ambassador 
offered, and Iribarne accepted, continued judicial 
exchanges between U.S. and GOA officials as well as U.S. 
assistance in hosting seminars that bring U.S. legal 
experts to Argentina to share their experiences. 
 
---- 
AMIA 
---- 
 
¶6.  (C) Regarding AMIA, the Ambassador expressed 
appreciation for the GOA's commitment to investigate the 
AMIA bombings.  He stressed that the United States respects 
Argentina's lead on the case and treats the matter as a law 
enforcement issue.  The FBI's Director for International 
Operations is a member of Interpol's Executive Committee, 
and will support the GOA's request for arrest warrants/Red 
Notices of those individuals indicted in the terrorist 
attack.  The Ambassador reiterated the offer made earlier 
to Foreign Minister Taiana (reftel) to reach out to other 
governments on Interpol's Executive Committee and urged that 
the GOA do the same, especially to Brazil and Chile, 
encouraging them to support the GOA's request not as a 
political matter, but as a matter of supporting international 
justice.  Iribarne agreed, stating that this is a legal 
issue not a political one.  He 
acknowledged that the GOA's recent experience with Interpol 
has been difficult, given Interpol's September 2005 
decision to rescind earlier Red Notices for 12 Iranian 
nationals implicated in the case.  The Ambassador stressed 
the importance of building international coalitions on 
terrorism issues.  He encouraged the GOA to privatel urge 
others to stand up for justice and support its efforts. 
Iribarne expressed appreciation for U.S. cooperation in the 
GOA's efforts to bring the perpetrators of the AMIA 
bombings to justice and stressed that the GOA wanted to 
handle the issue quietly. 
 
---------------------------- 
GOA Anti-Corruption Efforts 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C)  On the GOA's anti-corruption efforts, the 
Ambassador acknowledged that it is difficult, yet 
necessary, to adopt regulations that makes it harder for 
people to engage in corruption in the public and private 
sectors.  Although Transparency International's (TI) index 
is not perfect, it underscores the need for improvement in 
this area for Argentina.  He then asked about the progress 
the MOJ's Office of Anti-Corruption was making in improving 
 
government transparency and accountability.  Iribarne 
stated that the GOA does not agree with certain 
observations noted in the TI index.  He argued that TI 
mischaracterized GOA efforts to reform the Council of 
Magistrates in March as a move to limit judicial 
independence.  Nevertheless, Iribarne recognized that the 
GOA could do more to prevent public and private 
corruption.  He noted that the MOJ's Office of 
Anti-Corruption is an autonomous office that is divided 
into two sections:  one focused on investigations of 
corruption allegations and another focused on developing 
policies to encourage transparency in government 
procurement. 
 
¶8. (C) Iribarne maintained that the GOA has made progress 
in the area of transparency.  The GOA now requires 
government officials to submit a declaration of assets.  In 
its requests for public tenders, the GOA now publishes its 
design specifications for all government projects on the 
Web.  This takes out the subjectivity in awarding 
contracts, Iribarne contended, as the GOA will make its 
determination based on cost only, since all companies are 
bidding on the same design.  Ambassador Wayne added that 
publishing public tenders on-line also enables NGOs and the 
public to monitor government procurement, thereby assuring 
greater transparency.  Iribarne also pointed to the public 
nomination process used for the Supreme Court and the FIU 
as additional examples of GOA efforts to improve 
transparency.  He did acknowledge, however, that the GOA 
has very few prosecutions of public officials, but added 
that the GOA is aware that corruption hurts the cause of 
democracy and the ordinary citizens who abide by the rule 
of law. 
 
¶9. (C)  A/LEGATT Oliva noed that the USG has a strong 
emphasis on prosecuting public officials for corruption. 
Last year, the FBI prosecuted 1,200 public officials, 
including 365 police officers.  Each government agency has 
an Office of the Inspector General that investigates 
corruption charges within its own agency.  In addition, the 
USG's accusatory judicial system, ability to use informants 
and wiretapping has also made it easier to weed out 
corruption, Oliva explained. 
 
¶10. (C) The Ambassador further added that the USG 
prosecutes private corruption as well.  U.S. companies are 
required to abide by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and 
the USG has convicted several companies for bribing foreign 
officials.  As a result, many U.S. companies conduct their 
own internal audits as well as training programs to deter 
and detect corruption.  The USG has aggressively pushed for 
an OECD treaty that would require its members to make the 
commitment not to bribe foreign officials.  The Ambassador 
offered U.S. assistance in organizing a seminar on best 
practices in the United States and elsewhere in 
strengthening transparency and anti-corruption efforts.  The 
Minister agreed that it is important to exchange ideas with 
friendly countries. 
WAYNE