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Argentina – Legal woes worsen for Argentina’s Cristóbal López

One of Argentina’s most powerful gaming moguls Cristóbal López has received a harsh judicial setback in the case that accuses him of defrauding the Argentine tax office (AFIP) of $8,000m.

A court rejected his request for release and also denied his proposal, shared with the other two defendants in the case businessman Fabián De Sousa and the ex head of the tax collection agency Ricardo Echegaray, to suspend the trial. The court voted by a majority to reject the appeal presented by his defence team for release and also ratified his preventive detention.

The businessman is being investigated for tax evasion between 2013 and 2015. The charges also extend to Lopez’s business partner Fabián de Souza.

The investigation was first initiated on March 16, 2016 and was filed by Deputy Elisa Carrió who accused Ricardo Echegaray of illegally permitting Oil Combustibles SA not to pay in time and in a proper manner fuel tax which was in turn used to capitalize other companies belonging to Lopez namely the Indalo Group. The Indalo Group was a holding company controlled by Cristobal López, with assets in gasoline distribution, media, the food industry, infrastructure and gaming.
In addition, the complaint held that part of the money had been collected “fraudulently to meet the returns of former presidents Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, their companies and societies.”

López, a self made businessman, first began running gaming establishments in the southern province of Chubut in 1992 and then quickly expanded his gaming operations into the provinces of Misiones, La Pampa, Mendoza and then later Santa Cruz.

2016 年 XNUMX 月，洛佩斯宣布将与其赌博业务相关的公司转让给他的老商业伙伴里卡多·贝内迪托 (Ricardo Benedicto)。这包括出售他在马德罗港、罗萨里奥和内乌肯经营赌场的 Inverclub 股份，以及他在布宜诺斯艾利斯和阿根廷其他一些城市的赛马场经营老虎机的 Casino Club 股份。