Subject: Mr X?s situation
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked], e-mail <.mar�[email-masked]>, corr�.mar�[email-masked]
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 15:59:05 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Richard, 
As requested, please find hereinbelow the different sections of Law No. 25,188 of Public Ethics (PEL) and of our criminal code (CC) that could be in play in this matter.
Please notice that we have recently discovered through our criminal lawyer the unpublished opinion of the Anticorruption Office dlivered at the enquiry of the Secretary of Communications. Some of the ideas therein expressed could benefit Mr. X in case than a specific investigation or challenge is made. We will work in a memo to illustrate on the matter.
Section 13, PEL: It is incompatible with public office: 
a) to manage, administer, represent, sponsor, provide any advise, or, by any other means, render services to any person that negotiates or has a concession or is a supplier of the State or performs activities regulated by the same, so long as the relevant public office position has a direct competence with respect to the engagement, achievement, negotiation or control of such concessions, benefits or activities;
b) to be a supplier, either on its behalf or on behalf of a third party, of any State body where the relevant person is an officer.
Section 15, PEL: If at the moment of his appointment, the public officer is held to be within any of the incompatibilities mentioned in Section 13, he must:
a) resign to such activities as a condition precedent to assuming the position. 
b) refrain himself from intervening, during the performance of his duties as an officer, in matters related to the persons with whom or issues in which he were connected with for the past three (3) years or where he has a corporate participation.
In such circumstances, those acts could be considered null and void and generate the responsibility mentioned in section 17 of the abovementioned law that provides:
Section 17, PEL: Notwithstanding the rights of any third party acting in good faith, in the event that the acts performed by the persons comprised in Section 1 are within the scope of Sections 13, 14 and 15, the same shall be absolutely invalid and void. In case of the issuance of an administrative act, such acts shall be absolutely invalid and void pursuant to the terms of Section 14 of law No. 19,549.
The concession companies or other counter parties shall be severally liable for any damages caused to the State by these acts.
Section 173, CC: 
Fraudulent administration 
Notwithstanding the general provision of the above-mentioned Section, the following shall be considered special cases of fraud and shall be subject to the penalties established therein[prison of one month to six years]: 
...7) who, due to any applicable law, authority or legal act, is in charge of the management, administration or care of assets or economic interests belonging to a third party, with the purpose of seeking on its behalf or on behalf of a third party an illegal profit or of causing damage, infringes the duty of care, damaging the entrusted interests or illegitimately forces the owner of the same;...
Section 256, CC: 
Passive Corruption 
The public officer who, on its behalf or through any third party, receives money or any other grant or accepts a direct or indirect promise, in order to act, delay the performance or omit to act with respect to anything related to his office, shall be punished with confinement or prison from one to six years and perpetual disqualification to hold a public position.
Section 256 (bis), CC: 
Influence peddling 
Who, on its behalf or through any third party, asks for or receives money or any other grant or accepts a direct or indirect promise, in order to illegally influence a public officer so as to make the latter act, delay the performance or omit to act with respect to anything related to his office, shall be punished with confinement or prison from one to six years and life disqualification to hold a public position..
Section 258, CC: 
Active Corruption 
Who, direct or indirectly, grants or offers benefits seeking any of the behaviours referred in  articles 256 and 256 (bis), first paragraph, shall be punished with prison from one to six years. If the grant was made or offered to obtain any of the referred behaviours by articles 256 bis, second paragraph and 257, the punishment will be of prison from two to six years. If it was a public officer, he will be punished with special disqualification from two to six years in the first case and from three to ten years in the second one.
Section 258 (bis), CC: 
Influence peddling 
Who grants or offers to a public officer of another State, direct or indirectly, any  value or other benefits as donations, favours, promises or advantages, in order to illegally influence him so as to make, as exchange, the latter act or omit to act with respect to anything related to his office related to any transaction of economic or commercial nature, shall be punished with confinement from one to six years and life disqualification to hold a public position.
Section 268 (3), CC: 
Affidavit Omission or Falsification 
Who, under law and in view of its position, is required to file a patrimonial affidavit and maliciously omits to do so, shall be punished with prison from fifteen days to two years and perpetual disqualification.
The violation shall be deemed such when, upon sufficient notification demanding compliance, the relevant person fails to comply with the requested obligations within the terms foreseen by applicable laws.
The same penalty shall be applicable to anyone who maliciously falsifies or omits to include in the referred affidavits any data or information that is required to be included in accordance with any applicable law and regulations.
Do not hesitate in contacting us should you need any further clarificaction. 
Best regards, 
Guido Santiago Tawil 
M. & M. Bomchil 
Suipacha 268, piso 12 
(C1008AAF) Buenos Aires 
Argentina 
Tel  (54 11) 4321 7500 
Fax (54 11) 4321 7555 
E-mail [email-masked] 
www.bomchil.com.ar