Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) has fined ARS Cambios SAS, operating as Sur Finanzas and linked to AFA president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, 18 billion pesos and banned it from currency exchange operations. The firm conducted over US$25 million in foreign currency transactions from January to December 2023 without verifiable genuine destinations for the funds. Its administrator and her son face individual fines and bans from financial roles.
The BCRA found that ARS Cambios SAS, run by financiers Ariel Vallejo and Graciela Beatriz Vallejo, conducted foreign currency buy-sell operations with other exchange houses totaling over US$25 million in 2023. “The entirety of the foreign currency acquired and resold by the supervised entity did not have a genuine destination for sale to clients in the official free exchange market, but rather constituted a ‘handover’ of pesos and dollars without apparent economic justification,” the monetary authority stated.
The firm must refrain from currency exchange activities. Graciela Beatriz Vallejo, titular administrator and sole shareholder, was fined 7.228 billion pesos and disqualified for six years. Her son, Ariel Vallejo, also an administrator, received a 5.429 billion peso fine and five-year disqualification from roles in financial entities, including banks, virtual wallets, and fintechs.
It was also penalized for exceeding monthly foreign currency sales limits in December 2023, January, and February 2024. With a 102% exchange gap, the BCRA estimates participants gained around US$25.878 million. The sanctioned parties have 30 business days to appeal to the National Chamber of Federal Administrative Appeals.
Ariel Vallejo faces questioning on May 5 for alleged illicit money laundering association from 2020 to 2025, with investigated ties to Tapia, as Vallejo himself admitted.
