Corruption in Argentina remains a serious problem. Argentina has long suffered from widespread and endemic corruption. Corruption remains a serious problem in the public and private sector even though the legal and institutional framework combating corruption is strong in Argentina.
A 1996 article in The New York Times noted that "payoffs, kickbacks and government corruption are considered part of everyday life" in Argentina. Bribery and fraud are also found common among the private sector, and the lack of transparency in government regulations and laws has triggered an increased uncertainty among investors.
The Financial Action Task Force removed Argentina from its "gray list" in October 2014, noting significant progress made by the country in improving its legislation and procedures against money laundering and illicit financing.
Extent
In Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Argentina scored 38 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Argentina ranked 94th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 12 (ranked 180). For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Americas was 74, the average score was 43 and the lowest score was 14. Comparing the 2020 and 2021 Corruption Perception Indexes, Transparency International wrote of the Americas region that "Dropping four points compared to last year, Argentina (38) is the country in the region that has declined the most. Interference in the judiciary by political authorities is jeopardising the country’s independence and creating an impression of impunity. 2021 was also characterised by abuses of power during the pandemic: the discretionary vaccination scheme (VIP vaccination) for public officials and their cronies, non-transparent procurement and contracting, and unethical behaviour by government officials."
Argentina fared even more poorly in the corruption rankings on the 2012–13 Global Competitiveness Report, issued by the World Economic Forum. Out of 152 countries surveyed, Argentina was named the 145th least corrupt, meaning that only seven countries in the world were more corrupt according to the WEF.
The Financial Times noted in 2013 that in Argentina corruption is widely considered to be "engrained", and "there is the sense that public officials are untouchable". In May 2013, sociologist Atilio Borón lamented that "the Argentinian is very accustomed to the idea that governments are corrupt, and does not seem shocked at acts of corruption," and that the corruption of politicians therefore does not prevent their reelection. "This is an economy that for the past 20 years has tolerated a legal drain of over 160 billion dollars," he added, "and this it now coming to take its revenge." A CIPCE (Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Economic Crimes) study concluded that public sector corruption alone cost the national treasury around US$10 billion from 1980 to 2006.
A major Argentine newspaper, La Nación, editorialized in October 2013 that although corruption has been a major problem in Argentina since the 1890s, it has been "on the increase" since the 1990s.
WikiLeaks cables released in 2011 revealed that diplomats from the United States and several other Western countries had expressed deep concern about the current levels of corruption in Argentina. "Under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner," reported The Heritage Foundation in 2013, "respect for markets and the rule of law has deteriorated and corruption has boomed."
According to Transparency International, Argentina has sufficient legislation and institutions dedicated to the prosecution of corruption in the public sector, but enforcement is highly inadequate, with the result that "impunity continues to trump integrity."
History
There is a long history of serious corruption in Argentina. "Ever since independence, almost 200 years ago Argentina's foreign debt has been a source of impoverishment and corruption and the biggest scandals." Likewise, rumors or allegations of corruption have frequently been publicized by feuding political figures or factions in Argentina by way of undermining rivals.