Corporate Investigations 2024 — Chapter 6: Argentina
por Francisco Grosso
Áreas de práctica relacionadas: Compliance & Investigations
GLOBAL LEGAL GROUP – INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE LEGAL GUIDES
Corporate Investigations 2024 — Chapter 6: Argentina
1 The Decision to Conduct an Internal Investigation
1.1 What statutory or regulatory obligations should an entity consider when deciding whether to conduct an internal investigation in your jurisdiction? Are there any consequences for failing to comply with these obligations or with regulatory expectations? Are there any regulatory or legal benefits for conducting an investigation?
The Argentine legal framework currently lacks specific statutory or regulatory provisions governing internal investigations.
Legal entities are not under a legal obligation to conduct such investigations, and there are no direct legal consequences for companies that choose not to investigate an issue.
However, the Argentine Corporate Criminal Liability Law (Law No. 27,401) offers significant incentives for entities to engage in timely internal investigations and self-reporting. This statute outlines that entities that voluntarily disclose misconduct, following an internal investigation before any intervention by an enforcement authority, may become eligible for various benefits, including potential reductions in penalties or even exemption from penalties. An additional eligibility
requirement is that the company must demonstrate the prior implementation of an effective compliance programme before the misconduct occurred. Furthermore, the wrongdoer must
have made an effort to circumvent the established controls. Lastly, the company must return any unlawfully gained profits arising from the misconduct.
Even in cases where the entity is found liable because it did not meet one of the three requirements mentioned above, the statute permits the consideration of the internal investigation as a mitigating factor when determining the nature and extent of the penalty.
Moreover, the Argentine Corporate Criminal Liability Law (Law No. 27,401) recommends that legal entities incorporate whistleblowing hotlines that are “open to third parties and adequately disseminated”, as well as internal investigation procedures and policies designed to shield whistleblowers from retaliation, as part of their compliance programme.
Specific regulations exist for certain industries, such as securities (General Resolution 606/2012, Recommendation VIII), and financial institutions (Central Bank Communication “A” 5838). In these cases, regulators actively encourage regulated entities to pursue internal investigations to uncover
instances of misconduct.
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Corporate Investigations 2024 — Chapter 6: Argentina
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