04 Ene 24 Bill of Law: Modifications to the Anticorruption Office

Agustín Cerolini, Matías Ferrari, Natalia Artmann  y Valentina Circolone

On December 27, 2023 the Bill for Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines (the “Bill”) was introduced to the Argentine National Congress by the Executive Power (the “PEN” for its acronym in Spanish). In one of its chapters, the Bill proposes to modify certain requirements and functions of the Anticorruption Office created through Law No. 25,233 (the «Law«).

In this regard, the Bill incorporates articles 13 bis and 13 ter to the Law, which establish the requirements to hold the position of head of the Anticorruption Office and the functions of such body.

Among the main functions of the Anticorruption Office proposed in the Bill, are the following: (i) to elaborate and coordinate programs for the prevention and fight against corruption and for the promotion of integrity and transparency in the public function; (ii) to evaluate and control the content of the sworn statements of public officials and the situations that could constitute illicit enrichment or incompatibility for public officials; (iii) to keep a record of gifts received by public officials and of trips financed by third parties and to analyze their content; (iv) to receive and, as the case may be, process complaints made by individuals or public agents related to its purpose; and (v) to become a plaintiff in proceedings in which the State’s assets are affected, within the scope of its competence, among others.

Finally, the Bill establishes the creation of a decentralized agency with functional autonomy, which will exercise the functions of enforcement authority in its respective areas, of the regulations on public integrity and the fight against corruption in force. The aforementioned agency will be created by the Legislative and Judicial Branches of the Nation, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Nation.