The Argentine Revenue Authority has received the right to confiscate crypto assets

The Argentine Revenue Authority (AFIP) has won a case for the confiscation of funds from digital accounts – now the regulator will be able to block digital accounts and seize taxpayers’ crypto assets.

The Court of Appeal in the Federal Chamber of the city of Mar del Plata, province of Buenos Aires, allowed AFIP to foreclose on accounts and seize in favor of the state crypto assets due to pay off tax payments and legal costs. Thus, a judicial precedent was created allowing the authorities to use the established law enforcement practice for similar confiscations.

“New technologies should not become a way to evade taxes. The growing economic and financial activity of the population through the use of digital accounts and assets requires the court to reinterpret the laws in accordance with current circumstances,” the ruling says.

Previously, government departments could impose injunctions on bank accounts, borrowings from third parties, and registered movable or immovable property.

The department’s new strategy for blocking accounts and confiscation is already being put into practice. Thus, AFIP has identified a group of 9,800 taxpayers for whom the regulator will require the blocking of cryptocurrency wallets. Thus, the agency intends to collect about $24 billion due from these taxpayers.

In April, Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, during a discussion on new ways to streamline city governance, proposed allowing city residents to pay taxes in bitcoin.