Overview
- The Federal Administrative Appeals Court’s Sala V, led by judges Guillermo Treacy and Pablo Gallegos Fedriani, reversed a lower-court ruling and required the BCRA to release data or explain item by item why each piece must remain confidential.
- The court said the bank’s reliance on Article 8 of the Access to Public Information Law was supported by generic claims, imposed legal costs on the BCRA, and reaffirmed the principle of maximum disclosure for matters of public interest.
- The case began with access requests from the Asociación Bancaria seeking dates, amounts, decision files, officials involved, insurance, and destinations related to reported 2024 shipments of gold.
- The Auditoría General de la Nación reported being blocked from auditing the operations, has newly sworn auditors (Mónica Almada, Pamela Calletti, Juan Ignacio Forlón), and is positioned to pursue legal action if access is still denied.
- The BCRA formally stated there were no contracts for placements with the BIS or other foreign depositaries as of 12/31/2024, media have cited a value at issue of about USD 4.981 billion, and Economy Minister Luis Caputo previously argued the transfers could generate returns on otherwise idle gold.