Government shutters ex-Ciccone Calcográfica, restructure National Mint

Argentina’s government on Thursday announced the dissolution of the former Ciccone Calcográfica printing company and the restructuring of the Natoinal Mint.

The announcement was made by Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni, who defined the Mint as “a state printing press with severe inefficiencies, which is entrusted with printing banknotes, passports, car licences and stamps.”

“The national government will advance with the dissolution of the Compañía de Valores Sudamericana [print and publishing house, or ex-Ciccone Calcográfica, as it is popularly known], remembered for surely one of the biggest corruption cases in recent decades,” communicated the spokesman at his daily press conference.

According to Adorni, “the previous bad administration implied funds being squandered with debts today reaching US$371 million, negative assets of US$78 million and gross negative annual earnings of US$20.5 million.”

“It should be highlighted that due to the refusal of Kirchnerism to print banknotes of higher value from the year 2020 onward, US$4.7 billion were spent importing banknotes when it is the Mint which should have been supplying Argentina with those banknotes,” he rounded out.

The ex-Ciccone was lined up to print paper money and other official state documents. For his manoeuvre in acquiring it via The Old Firm, former Kirchnerite vice-president Amado Boudou was sentenced to 70 months imprisonment in 2018 for fraud and negotiations incompatible with public office.

In the spokesman’s view, the company is "a delirium which faithfully represents the administration of [Sergio] Massa, [Alberto] Fernández and Instituto Patria president Cristina Kirchner," further detailing that during the Unión por la Patria administration 211 employees were contracted, bringing the total up to 1,300 employees.

He also questioned the ‘La Monedita’ kindergarten as spending an average of 1.2 million pesos per child.

"They employed 31 people for 60 children, practically one person contracted for every two kids. Furthermore, they had a medical service with eight employees when there had been only two four years previously, spending US$370,000 annually," he expounded.

Adorni maintained: "In an Argentina which no longer prints banknotes to finance its politics there is little point in continuing with this absolute squandering to maintain a structure at the service of fiscal degenerates," concluding: "The restructuring of the Mint is the last nail in the coffin of inflation."

– TIMES/NA