A high-impact judicial investigation into alleged illegal schemes with the official dollar during the period of exchange controls advanced significantly after the discovery of sensitive documents in the home of a high-ranking official at the Central Bank of the Republic Argentina (BCRA). Documents linked to the exchange house ARG EXCHANGE S.A., suspended in 2024 for irregularities, name financiers Elías Piccirillo and Martín Migueles as the main responsible parties, both under investigation for alleged currency deals. The material was seized during a series of raids carried out on December 29 last year by the Buenos Aires City Police, as part of a case investigating possible collusion between BCRA officials and financial operators to gain irregular access to the official dollar between 2022 and 2023, when strict exchange controls were in effect during the Alberto Fernández government. The 22-page document was found in the home of Analía Jaime, General Inspector of Non-Financial Entity Supervision at the BCRA. The report concludes by recommending the initiation of summary proceedings in exchange and financial matters for the detected breaches. The judicial case originated from the testimony of a repentant, Sebastián “Lobo” Smith, a former official of the Argentine Federal Police, who stated that he had participated in an illegal operation aimed at incriminating financier Francisco Hauke by planting a weapon and cocaine, with the objective of avoiding the payment of a multi-million dollar debt. Piccirillo was prosecuted for those facts and is currently serving house arrest. In his testimony, Smith also stated that he had transported large sums of money for Piccirillo and maintained that he had confessed to him to having ties with BCRA officials to gain irregular access to the official dollar. The Central Bank initiated internal administrative investigations against those involved. The defense of Analía Jaime, led by lawyer Diego Carle, denied any wrongdoing and argued that the seized documentation is part of her regular work. All the material was made available to Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello and Federal Prosecutor Franco Picardi, who are evaluating the probative scope of the finding. The internal summary corresponds to a “final off-site verification report” on ARG EXCHANGE S.A. and details a series of operational and structural irregularities detected in the exchange house. According to her explanation, the official has been working under a hybrid regime since the pandemic and keeps reports linked to the control of multiple exchange houses at her home. Meanwhile, the judicial investigation seeks to determine if the summary found constitutes only work material or if it reveals advance knowledge, omissions, or possible criminal liabilities in a plot that combines financial operators, public officials, and multi-million dollar maneuvers with the official dollar. Among the most sensitive points, the report states that the firm operated between January and August 2023 with a total volume of 184.8 million dollars, with peaks exceeding 60 million monthly in March and April, in a context of an exchange rate gap of over 100 percent between the official and parallel dollar. According to the investigation, Piccirillo appeared as the owner of 90 percent of the company's share capital, while Migueles simultaneously served as president, accounting officer, liaison with the Financial Information Unit (UIF), and head of internal control, a concentration of functions that was expressly noted in the summary as a serious anomaly. Buenos Aires, February 1, 2026 – Total News Agency-TNA-
In the same conversation, García alludes to threats and extortions, and hints at the existence of “entangled” officials in higher levels of the organization. Based on these proofs, Justice ordered raids at the BCRA and at the homes of García, Jaime and three other officials: Diego Volcic, María Valeria Fernández and Fabián Violante, all mentioned in the wiretaps. The case incorporates messages and audios that reinforce this hypothesis, including a recording of a conversation between Piccirillo and Romina García, an inspector in the BCRA's Supervision area, in which the official admits to having advised Hauke on his exchange houses, recognizing that this conduct was prohibited. Along with the summary, her cell phone and a notebook were seized, whose accesses were voluntarily delivered by the official.
