Swiftgate Explained

"Swiftgate" was the name given to a 1991 corruption scandal in Argentina during the presidency of Carlos Menem.^{[1] [2]}

Background

Swift, an American food processing company, wanted to apply for a grant to keep open its facilities in the province of Santa Fe. The presidential adviser Emir Yoma was accused of asking for a commission or kickback in exchange for facilitating the process.

In December 1990, the ambassador of the United States, Terence Todman, sent a note to the Argentine government, which backed a complaint from Swift of a bribery request to "speed up" the release of tax paperwork for machinery for its plant in Rosario.

As a result of the events, Yoma had to resign for asking the bribe and Antonio Erman Gonzalez left the Ministry of Economy.^[3]

The whistleblower was the economist Guillermo Nielsen, who had worked for Swift and had to settle in Uruguay for the next two years following a series of threats.

See also

• Yomagate
• Carlos Menem
• Horacio Verbitsky

Notes and References

1. Book: H. Lewis, Paul. Authoritarian Regimes in Latin America: Dictators, Despots, And Tyrants. 2006. 9780742537392.
2. Book: Enforcing the Rule of Law: Social Accountability in the New Latin American. 9780822972884. Peruzzotti. Enrique. Smulovitz. Catalina. 7 April 2006.
3. Web site: Aquella carta a favor de Swift que desató una tormenta en los 90. 8 February 2007.