Ex Senator Kueider backpacking USD 200K

[toast]

What are the proper explanations for this behavior? Is corruption so normal in Argentina that Kueider thought crossing a border with lots of cash was something he could get away with, and if not, could just bribe his way past the Paraguayan border guards? Or is the takeaway that one can be very stupid, carrying that much cash, and still serve in the high offices of Argentiina.

 

[camel]

Shouldda used bitcoin.

 

[JoeBoston]

Cash is still the best way to launder money.

 

[rihornos]

Yes he caln get away with it, a generous lawyer payed another 100k and this must be a way of buying votes one may wonder who has that much to buy senators or deputies....

 

[Ries]

This is pretty low level "corruption".
Its not even enough money to buy HALF a Porsche in Vincente Lopez.
Argentines who complain about how bad their corruption is have no idea how its done in other places.
ONE republican politician in Ohio recently skimmed sixty million dollars.
ONE politicians son recently got paid $120 million dollars to "manage" 3 billion dollars for the Saudis
ONE senator was recently convicted of 16 counts of bribery and corruption. They found twice this amount of money just sitting in the pockets of clothes in his closet, we wont even get into the free cars, the gold bars, and more.
Any self respecting corrupt border official in the USA will top this amount on a yearly basis.
You can barely buy a building inspector in NYC for this paltry amount.
Dont try insulting a US judge with this as an opening offer.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

Clearly they're making an example of him which is no bad thing?

 

[rihornos]

Yes it is pretty low level corruption but this is what was made public we don't know how much it is
This guy has made around 8 trips and Im sure he isn't the only one. My neighbor Cristina has money to live many lives, she had hotels and through testaferros great part of Patagonia .....to much corruption for a developing country....

 

[Ries]

I have no problem with prosecuting this guy, assuming its proven to be illegal.
I just have so many friends here who think Argentina is the most corrupt place on earth.
Which isnt even vaguely true.

 

[JoeBoston]

I have no problem with prosecuting this guy, assuming its proven to be illegal.
I just have so many friends here who think Argentina is the most corrupt place on earth.
Which isnt even vaguely true.

It’s one of them, the amount of corruption from the top to bottom is mind boggling.

Of course there are places more corrupt.

The entire real estate boom in Asuncion is built on dirty Argentine money.

Lazaro Baez traveled there frequently in his private jet.

 

[Ries]

It’s one of them, the amount of corruption from the top to bottom is mind boggling.

Of course there are places more corrupt.

The entire real estate boom in Asuncion is built on dirty Argentine money.

Lazaro Baez traveled there frequently in his private jet.

I guess definitions of "corruption" are part of the conversation.
I have visited places where corruption means virtually every interchange with a government employee includes a "tip".
Police, customs, etc.
That doesnt really happen here.
I have seen, in the USA, politicians receive kickbacks, stock shares, discounts, and special deals in the millions to tens of millions.
That, to me, is corruption.
LBJ, for example, used his political power to buy radio stations at below market rates and get federal approval at dinner parties with the head of the FTC.
Thats corruption.
Trump was paid twice his posted rate by the government for hotel rooms for the Secret Service that protected him.
And so on.

On the other hand, the entire crypto industry is about transfering money to avoid taxes, and daily, the FX market is several Trillion dollars.
That is what builds and buys real estate in Punta, or Ascuncion, or Miami.
Its tax evasion, for sure. But so is exchanging a benjamin at the cueva on Florida.
But is it "corruption"?

The kickbacks by the Brazilian contractor Odebrecht to Argentine politicians for the Sarmiento rail line- Corruption.
carrying paper dollars to Uruguay to buy an apartment? less clear.