Buenos Aires, March 9 (NA) – Justice Minister Juan Bautista Mahiques has proposed lawyer and federal prosecutor Matías Gabriel Álvarez as a candidate to head the Financial Information Unit (UIF), as part of the restructuring he is leading in the ministry after taking over from Mariano Cúneo Libarona. According to the Argentine News Agency, this appointment is part of a series of changes promoted by the new leadership of the Ministry of Justice, which had already requested the resignations of the heads of key bodies such as the General Inspection of Justice, the UIF, the Anticorruption Office, the Recovered Assets Office, and the International Center for the Promotion of Human Rights (CIPDH). Álvarez is a lawyer graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), where he obtained a Diploma of Honor with a specialization in Criminal Law, and is currently pursuing a specialization in Criminology at the National University of Quilmes. In the National Public Prosecutor's Office, he serves as a coadjunct federal prosecutor in the Prosecutor's Office for Narcocriminality (PROCUNAR), where he coordinates investigations and strategic litigation related to complex crimes and narcocriminality in the City of Buenos Aires. During his career in the Public Prosecutor's Office, he was an auxiliary prosecutor from 2019 to 2023 and previously a prosecutor's secretary from 2015 to 2019. He also worked in teams within the National Judicial Power, where he worked at the National Criminal and Correctional Court No. 12 of the Federal Capital, first as an auxiliary clerk and then as chief of staff. On the international front, Álvarez has been part of the Ibero-American Network of Anti-Drug Prosecutors since 2017, within the scope of the Ibero-American Association of Public Ministries, where he currently serves as co-coordinator. In addition to his judicial activity, he has an academic career linked to criminal law and organized crime. He is an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Law – General Part at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Lomas de Zamora and head of practical work at the Faculty of Law of the UBA. He also serves as academic coordinator of the Specialization in Investigation of Organized Crime at the Argentine Federal Police University Institute and participates as a teacher in training programs related to narcocriminality, complex crimes, and money laundering prevention. The eventual arrival of Álvarez at the UIF takes place in a context of institutional redefinition of the body in charge of preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism. According to the Argentine News Agency, the profile of the proposed official combines experience in criminal investigations, international cooperation, and specialized training in organized crime.
