Buenos Aires, March 3 (NA) – Attorney Gregorio Dalbon cited an article from the Noticias Argentinas news agency on Tuesday to challenge the decision of Economic Court Judge Diego Amarante to reject the defense's nullity motion for Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia and to maintain the summons for his questioning in a case involving the alleged improper withholding of over $19.353 billion by the AFA. After the judicial resolution was made public, Dalbon shared the information published by NA and, based on that article, issued an extensive press release criticizing the magistrate. 'The resolution issued this Tuesday by Judge Diego Amarante does not surprise us,' stated the lawyer. He also affirmed that Articles 4 and 7 of Law 27.430 require specific intent and proven solvency at the time of each due date for the crime to be established, points that, in his view, were not demonstrated. Dalbon also pointed out that the questioning is not a minor procedural act, as it implies the concrete attribution of a criminal act, and warned that conducting it while the typicity of the crime is being discussed could compromise constitutional guarantees. In his message, he also mentioned that the magistrate faces a complaint for alleged bribes in the exercise of his function, stating that impartiality is an essential requirement of legitimacy. Tapia's testimony is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, while treasurer Pablo Toviggino must appear the next day, within an investigation initiated by the revenue agency ARCA (ex AFIP) for alleged irregularities in the handling of tax withholdings and social security contributions. 'It should not surprise him,' expressed the attorney, while emphasizing that the National Chamber in Economic Criminal Law has an appeal pending that questions the very existence of the crime. In this sense, he argued that proceeding with the questioning while the higher court has not ruled implies 'presuming a conclusion' that should not be anticipated at first instance.
