Argentina's National Court of Appeals for Criminal and Correctional Matters has confirmed the acquittal of the director of the General Directorate of Customs, Juan José Gómez Centurión, in a case in which he was charged with several crimes.
The head of Customs had been accused of false testimony, violation of correspondence, abuse of authority, violation of the duties of a public official and concealment for having accessed evidence against a man accused of illegal smuggling, businessman Miguel Paoloantonio, which was provided against him by a journalist.
Juan José Gómez Centurión became the first official of Mauricio Macri's government to be removed from his post following a series of audio recordings sent anonymously to the Ministry of Security.
The recordings provided details of a network that profited from activities related to trade through Customs.
The situation gave rise to two complaints against Gómez Centurión, in which he was acquitted and restored to its functions.
One of the complaints was filed by businessman Miguel Paolantonio and was brought before the court of Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi.
According to the complainant, certain circumstances would allow him to assume that the head of the General Directorate of Customs, Gómez Centurión, had accessed elements obtained illegally (emails, "screenshots", etc.), the contents of which were accompanied by this investigation by a journalist.
In order to rule out the possibility of continuing with the investigation, Chamber II pointed out inconsistencies in Paolantonio's story, which arose when comparing it with the data contained in the file that has him accused of smuggling, which destroyed the premises of his criminal hypothesis.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
