Buenos Aires, January 22, 2026 - Total News Agency (TNA) - The head of the Financial Information Unit (UIF), Paul Starc, resigned on Thursday, barely a year after taking office. This departure comes amid strong internal tensions within the Government over the adaptation of the anti-money laundering framework, and particularly, over the delay in the enactment and regulation of the so-called tax innocence law, considered key by the Executive Branch.
The Ministry of Justice highlighted that Gaspari has a “solid trajectory in public and private management, finance, and administration,” and that his mission will be to strengthen prevention and control mechanisms, optimize the use of financial information, and deepen cooperation with national and international bodies.
Starc's departure was not an isolated incident. The text also adds that the former official “will continue to collaborate with the National Government in new responsibilities linked to management tasks, financial development, and institutional consolidation,” although concrete functions were not specified.
However, official sources from the agency itself indicated that Starc's departure was marked by a deep-rooted conflict with the economic team and the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina, which accused him of delaying the necessary resolutions for the full application of the tax innocence law, a norm that the Government considers strategic to encourage the disclosure of undeclared savings.
From the UIF, on the other hand, the stance was that this law clashes with current anti-money laundering regulations and the international commitments assumed by Argentina, particularly before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). “Issuing contrary resolutions meant risking one's head and leaving Argentina under FATF's scrutiny,” stated internal sources, explaining the now former official's position.
“The money laundering law clashes with tax innocence and does not give the UIF the power to issue regulations in this sense. Furthermore, it could even be unconstitutional, exposing the country to sanctions and international observations,” sources within the unit noted.
In one of his last moves at the helm of the UIF, Starc had held meetings in Washington with authorities from the United States Government to exchange information linked to sensitive financial investigations, including the case related to the Argentine Football Association, which had been interpreted as a sign of alignment with international control standards.
Following the resignation, the Government appointed Ernesto Gaspari as the new head of the UIF, former Secretary of Coordination and External Planning of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Along with him, several key members of his team also resigned, including the Deputy Director of Criminal Litigation, the Director of International Coordination, the Director of Analysis, and heads of administrative and dispatch areas, which implies a profound overhaul of the agency's structure.
With this move, the Government seeks to unblock the conflict between the liberalization-oriented economic agenda and the demands of the international anti-money laundering system, a showdown that was exposed with Starc's departure and will now fall under the responsibility of the new UIF leadership.
