Police Seize $367,110 in Bribery Investigation Involving State-Owned Tandanor

A bribery complaint involving Argentina’s state-owned Tandanor has led to searches across Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata, where Federal Police found $367,110 believed to be connected to alleged improper payments to a senior shipyard official.

Tandanor itself filed the complaint after an internal audit uncovered irregularities following the renewal of the company’s leadership. The investigation was assigned to Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 7, headed by Sebastián Casanello, with the involvement of Secretariat No. 14 under José María Ortega Galíndez.

Investigators focused on a person who allegedly had been contacted by a senior Tandanor executive. The suspected proposal was to pay $200,000 in exchange for the official forgiving a debt owed to the shipyard.

Casanello delegated the investigation in May to the Investigative Unit Against Corruption. Technical and digital analysis, including cross-checks of people and addresses, identified properties and safe-deposit boxes allegedly used to hold the money. Investigators linked five addresses to the case, four in Buenos Aires and one in Mar del Plata.

The searches resulted in charges against two adult Argentine suspects. Police said the money was found at a private residence and in a bank safe-deposit box in downtown Buenos Aires. The box was sealed and disabled on the court’s orders.

Officers also seized legal notices concerning the companies involved, bank statements, transfer receipts, contract records and a handwritten foreign-currency receipt signed by the suspects. A laptop, desktop computer, tablet and three mobile phones were also taken into evidence. The case is listed as “Bribery,” and the seized material remains with the court.