ArgentinaPolitical Party Financing: Suspicious Contributions Reported in the 2023 Presidential Campaign
Directorio Legislativo filed a complaint with the judiciary regarding alleged violations of Law 26.215 on Political Party Financing. According to the investigation, based on the analysis of public data and cross-referencing official databases, the 2023 elections revealed patterns of suspicious contributions linked to public employees and beneficiaries of social programs. The complaint was filed with Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 1, which has electoral jurisdiction, and was assigned to Federal Prosecutor’s Office No. 1
The analysis found that at the former AFIP, now the Customs and Revenue Collection Agency (ARCA), 258 employees made 273 donations to the Frente Unión por la Patria. Ninety-five percent of these contributions were exactly 100,000 pesos, and a quarter were made on the same day, August 11, 2023. Ninety-nine percent went to the ruling party’s presidential campaign. Similarly, at ANSES, a comparable pattern was identified: 51 employees made 62 contributions to the Partido Justicialista, of which 75% were for the same amount and 80% occurred within a single week in November.
According to the complaint, the concentration of identical contributions in both amount and timing constitutes a pattern inconsistent with the principles of spontaneity and authenticity that should govern political donations. Furthermore, cross-referencing with social program records—such as Potenciar Trabajo, Progresar, the Universal Child Allowance (Asignación Universal por Hijo), and Alimentar—revealed at least 57 beneficiaries listed as donors to the Frente Unión por la Patria. Notably, one Potenciar Trabajo beneficiary allegedly donated 150,000 pesos in July 2023.
The complaint suggests that these could be compulsory or simulated donations, explicitly prohibited by law, which bans contributions obtained under labor or hierarchical coercion, as well as those whose true source of funds is concealed.
These findings were made possible through the use of Joining the Dots, a tool developed by Directorio Legislativo to analyze large volumes of public data and detect irregularities in political financing. The platform was recognized in 2019 by the International Monetary Fund in the Anti-Corruption Challenge and has already been applied in Argentina, Colombia, and Nigeria.
Finally, the organization requested that the judiciary investigate the true origin of the funds, identify those responsible for the maneuvers, and apply the sanctions provided by law. According to the complaint, what is at stake is one of the basic pillars of the democratic system: transparency in political party financing and the electoral process.