10 Oct 24 The PEN Introduces Changes to the Composition of the Financial Information Unit

By Agustín L. Cerolini, Martín Chindamo and Maria Agustina Martín Triscali.

On October 9, 2024, the National Executive Power (for its acronym in Spanish, the “PEN”) published Decree 891/2024 in the Official Gazette, which introduces significant amendments to Law No. 25.246, concerning the establishment of the Financial Information Unit (for its acronym in Spanish, the “UIF”). With this decree, the PEN reaffirms and strengthens the operational independence and autonomy of the UIF, promoting its decentralization through changes in its structure and integration requirements.

Among the modifications, the Advisory Council of the UIF is eliminated, along with its functions and methods of appointment, leaving the unit comprised solely of a president and a vice president. Decisions of the UIF will be exclusively attributed to the president, thus removing the previously stipulated sessions in the law due to the reduction in its members.

This restructuring is framed within the provisions of Law No. 27.742 and aims to improve public management, promoting greater transparency, agility, efficiency, and quality in the service of the common good, as well as optimizing resources to reduce the over dimensioning of the UIF’s structure. This will contribute to decreasing the deficit and increasing transparency in expenditures, as well as aligning the composition of the UIF with the Interpretative Note of Recommendation No. 29 of the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”).

Furthermore, the decree expands the list of entities required to report to the UIF, including both individuals and legal entities registered or authorized by the National Securities Commission to operate in the capital markets.