ARGENTINA: Tax officials raid offices of multinational grain exporters, including Cargill, as part of investigation into alleged tax evasion

Record ID: 445648

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Tax officials raid offices of multinational grain exporters, including Cargill, as part of investigation into alleged tax evasion
  • Date: 30th April 2011
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA (FILE) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF SOY PLANT VARIOUS OF SOY HARVEST SOY BEING LOADED ONTO TRUCK
  • Embargoed: 15th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE3BA375F51C66T1JE80EUTGNF
  • Story Text: Argentine tax inspectors raided the premises of some of the country's largest multinational grains exporters on Thursday (April 28) as part an investigation into alleged evasion, the AFIP tax agency said.
    The local offices of agribusiness giants Bunge Ltd, Cargill and Los Grobo were among those raided.
    The AFIP accused the companies raided under a federal court order of evading about $72 million in taxes by striking deals on the black market.
    The raids on 165 premises, which involved 1,200 tax agents, were similar to an offensive launched by the AFIP in early March, when it accused companies of evading some $36 million in taxes.
    One AFIP official, Graciela Nora Manonellas, put the figure at $76 million dollars.
    "This organization has major legal and financial infrastructure that definitely creates false dealings and billing with end of evading taxes. Right now we can put the amount at around $76 million (310 million pesos)."
    Other firms raided on Thursday included Argentina's Vicentin, Aceitera General Deheza and Molinos Rio de la Plata, the source said.
    Argentina's center-left government has been investigating major grains exporters since last year.
    A court indicted two executives of Cargill, the country's top soymeal and soyoil exporter, on evasion charges in October.
    Inspectors also raided Bunge premises during the same month over an alleged income-tax evasion totaling $300 million.
    Outside the offices of Los Grobo, AFIP employee Marcelo Claudio Quintiniani said he and his colleagues hope the raids would clear up the case.
    "The purpose of this is to get information that will allow us determine whether there was really tax fraud. We are trying to investigate," he said.
    AFIP chief Ricardo Echegaray is a close political ally of President Cristina Fernandez, who has had a tense relationship with the key agricultural sector after farmers protested over a tax increase on soy exports in 2008.
    Fernandez, who defends high export taxes as a way to redistribute Argentina's farming wealth, says evasion is a particularly serious problem in the agricultural sector.
    The grains export taxes, boosted by bumper soy and corn harvests, have helped fuel solid tax revenue growth of between 30 percent and 40 percent year-on-year in recent months.
    As well as being the No. 3 supplier of soybeans, Argentina is the world's top exporter of soyoil and soymeal and the second-biggest corn provider after the United States.
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