Monthly Archives: May 2025

Good News from Argentina: Web of Judicial Corruption Exposed

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Judge Marcelo Bailaque, a senior federal magistrate based in Rosario, has been arrested for his role in a complex corruption scheme that allowed drug traffickers and money launders to avoid prosecution.

What makes the arrest especially good news is that Rosario, a river port on the route between cocaine-producing Peru and Bolivia and customers in Europe, has been dubbed Argentina’s first “narcocity,” with gangland violence regularly leading to the deaths of innocents (here). His arrest is a critical step in dismantling the gangs and bringing peace and prosperity to the beautiful, colonial-era city.

Although the immunity Bailaque enjoys as a federal judge may slow the criminal case, the arrest prompted the immediate opening of a disciplinary one before the governing body of the judiciary (the Consejo de la Magistratura). It is now proceeding in parallel with the criminal investigation.

Bailaque was snared as part of a larger investigation led by the Rosario office of Argentina’s Procuraduría de Criminalidad Económica y Lavado de Activos. It found that Carlos Vaudagna, a now former regional director of the tax agency operated as an informal broker between individuals under criminal investigation and key members of the judiciary. Using his position and influence, Vaudagna secured favorable treatment for the suspects in return for bribes or other benefits, intervening directly or through intermediaries to obstruct investigations, delay proceedings, and influence judicial decisions. His conduct exposed a broader structure of collusion between segments of the judiciary and organized economic crime. Judge Bailaque is charged with playing a central role in the criminal scheme, enabling or tolerating illicit practices from his position on the federal bench.

This outcome represents a crucial milestone, not only in the pursuit of accountability in this case, but in the broader fight against corruption within the judiciary. Progress would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of multiple agencies and the strong institutional backing for prosecutorial independence in Argentina.

For Spanish readers (and Google translate users) more on the investigation follows.

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Fighting Grand Corruption: Naomi Roht-Arriaza’s Indispensable Guide to Combatting Its Scourge

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The literature on grand corruption, a/k/a kleptocracy or state capture, continues to expand at an ever-increasing rate.

Investigative exposes, think tank and NGO policy papers, academic books and articles, court cases and legal commentaries, and yes, blogs like this one make it hard for full-time students of the phenomenon, let alone policymakers, journalists and activists, to stay abreast of the learning this vast outpouring of thinking is producing.  

Thanks to University of California Law Professor Naomi Roht-Arriaza‘s new book, what we know about grand corruption, what can be done to curb it, and how to make its victims whole is now available in a single, readable, useful volume.

The title – Fighting Grand Corruption: Transnational and Human Rights Approaches in Latin America and Beyond – advertises two of its most important contributions.

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Trump Blares Profits, Eliciting Barely a Peep

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That was the headline on the lead story in the May 26 New York Times.

The author, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times and one of Washington’s most respected journalists, reports the growing view that the Trump Administration’s corruption represents “the most brazen use of government office in American history.” In support he cites anticorruption guru and GAB favorite Michael Johnston who told him–

I’ve been watching and writing about corruption for 50 years, and my head is still spinning

To quote a guru on another subject (revolution — V. Lenin), the question is now: What is to Done?

Signatures Sought on Call for More Participatory UNCAC Review Mechanism

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Lincoln famously remarked that laws without enforcement are just good advice, an observation anticorruption advocates understand all too well.

For almost two decades, the UNCAC Coalition has sought to see that the world’s most important anticorruption law, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, is something more than just good advice. Its latest effort: Gathering signatures from NGOs, individuals and other entities (companies, professional associations etc.) on an open letter to the 191 UNCAC States Parties calling for a more effective, transparent and inclusive mechanism for reviewing compliance with the Convention.

The letter is open for endorsement until 2 June. To date there are more than 230 signatories from 90+ countries.

The letter is available here in English, Spanish, French, Russian and Arabic, the list of current signatories here, the sign-up form for endorsements here.

Great Resource for Journalists and Anticorruption Activists

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UNISHKA Research Service, a worldwide alliance dedicated to fostering ethics and integrity in government, business, and society, is developing directories showing for each country where to find property records, business registrations, and other information on who holds what assets. The project is adding countries at a rate of 1-2 per week.

A screenshot of the first page of the Qatar directory is below.  Link to the full page here.

Why The FATF-Based Anti-Money Laundering System Fails to Catch the Proceeds of Corruption

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Today’s Guest Post is by Robert Barrington, Professor of Anti-Corruption Practice at the Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex (UK) and formerly the Chair of Transparency International’s International Council.

In recent years, anticorruption campaigners and policymakers have directed increased effort towards improving the global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) system.

Imagine this system were operating perfectly. Would it stop kleptocracy?

Of course not, no more than AML systems stop heroin production. AML laws and regulation are not designed to stop the acts that generate dirty funds; they are designed to stop the proceeds of crime from being disguised (laundered) and thus freely circulating around the world.

The more difficult question involves monies kleptocrats steal: if the global AML system were operating perfectly, would it stop these funds – the proceeds of corruption – from circulating around the world?

Two recent reports in the UK — from the Taskforce on Business Ethics and the Legal Profession and Spotlight on Corruption — answer the question with a resounding NO: when the proceeds of corruption derive from kleptocracy, when crooks have captured the state, the UK’s AML system is not capable of addressing these funds.  To be clear, even if the current global AML system were operating perfectly, the UK would be unable to deal with the proceeds of corruption arising from state capture.

To date the research is confined to the UK context and UK law; it has yet to extend to other jurisdictions. But given what is known about the globalised nature of illicit financial flows, we might conclude that other jurisdictions are no better at this than the UK.

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