The dollar is one of the preferred currencies for the Argentines, since it allows cover from the devaluation of the Argentine peso. For this reason, a large part of the population with the capacity to save decides treasure this currency, generating a great demand.
Due to the few Bookings of BCRA, The national government has taken various measures to discourage the buy and the expenses in foreign currency. This fact led to the existence of different gaps between the legal exchange rates of the parallel market or casual.
Dollar roll: how much money can be earned
The dollar roll It consists, in simple terms, of acquire Dollars in a market “cheap” Y sell them “expensive”. In this case, the MEP exchange rate They are at approximately $357.2, about $24.8 less than the blue dollar (buying exchange rate), generating a gap between these exchange rates.
The strategy is to buy Dollars to $357.2 through a broker to later transfer it to a savings bank or checking account in dollars. then the person withdraw sayings Dollars per box and the sells in it parallel market, either in a “little tree” or “cave” as well as between individuals.
In this way, a person who buy u$s1,000 in the broker and the sells in it parallel market, becomes $24.8 per dollar, which translates to $24,800 approximately. Another of the strategies is to do the reverse operation, that is, to sell dollars that are previously stored at the value of the blue (currently $382). It should be noted that many brokers charge a commission, so the “revenue“ could be less.
The roll, with an amount of US$3,000, allows people to earn $74,400 in profit, although it is an illegal operation
Then those pesos I know enter to the account of bank and later it they transfer to the broker. In this case, some people prefer to put in the $357.2 needed to get their dollars back, while others put in the full amount to have more dollars.
If we take US$3,000 as an example, the person gets $1,146,000 in the parallel market which will become, after the process, approximately US$3,208. This translates into a immediate profit of 6.94%, just below dollar inflation for all of 2022 in the United States, making it a important performance.
“Basically people start buying dollar MEP and then Do you sell their Dollars in it parallel market. However, it is not a 100% strategy, since, although it is legal buy dollar MEP, selling them on the parallel market is illegal“, points out to iProfesional, Alejo Sánchez, financial adviser and author of the YouTube channel “Finanzas con Alejo”.
What are the problems of making the loop with the dollar?
In this line, the specialist Alejo Sánchez emphasizes that it is a illegal operation, besides that you must have the declared income and have a bank account in dollars.
“The problem is that when this “play” is made and deposit the money obtained in black, we will have to justify funds and, being a totally illegal operation, mention cannot be made of the sale of dollars in the parallel market, so the money cannot be justified,” he warns.
What the expert mentioned is very logical, since, for the bank, the person withdrew the dollars, but never the “sold”, because formally no sale was registered. That is to say, for the bank, the dollars are still in the hands of the client and, in addition, more than 1 million pesos entered, so that million will be the one that must justify and, since he cannot mention the operation in the parallel market, he will not be able to do so.
For the bank, the person continues to have the dollars in his possession and, on the other hand, the pesos that he deposited
“For this reason, it is not at all advisable to carry out this type of operation. In addition, what usually happens is that blank money acquired with lawful funds, ends up turning into black money,” Sanchez told iProfessional.
On the other hand, the expert maintains that, even if this operation were legal, would have their risks, since the margin Between both exchange rates may shorten At any time. That is, assuming that the dollars were sold for $382, the MEP dollar rises sharply and remains at $382 or above this value, generating a loss for the person who made the transaction.
What are the legal consequences of rolling?
As for the legal consequences, Sanchez maintains that the central bank may initiate him to the person a criminal exchange summary, since it governs the Criminal Exchange Law and, once the case is studied, it is raised to the penal and there can be from one penalty fee that can reach up to 10 times the amount traded and even imprisonment up to 8 years, in case of recidivism.
“Even the person can be investigated by the FIU for an alleged “money laundering” generating bass legal consequences. For this reason, I always recommend not doing this type of maneuver, regardless of the amount,” warns Sanchez
Along these lines, Agustín Segundo Sosa, executive director of Simple Tribute, reminds iProfessional that the minimum number to report accreditations, withdrawals, account balances and time deposits is located in $90,000.
Said figure is considerably low for people who perform this type of operation, since, for the “roller” be it “profitable”, usually live through widely the half a million pesos. In addition, the specialist remembers that said figure is for all the operations mentioned, so if you have a fixed term of $50,000 and money in an account for $41,000, the threshold of $90,000 has already been exceeded.
For the “curl” to be profitable, many people deposit more than half a million pesos
“The value is monthly, Therefore, if several deposits are made whose sum exceeds the aforementioned amount, the Bank entities shall report to AFIP“Sosa says.
“Also, for avoid the money laundering, virtual wallets should report the movements from each user to Financial Information Unit (FIU)“, Add.
In addition, the specialist maintains that, in the event of receiving large sums of money, companies usually request that in order to continue using their platforms, justify the Source of Funds. Along these lines, Agustín Segundo Sosa points out to iProfessional some of the most common justifications:
- Pay stubs, retirement or pension
- Summary of issued invoices or vouchers
- Affidavits of Earnings or Personal Assets
- VAT Declarations or Gross Income
- Certification of income or source of funds certified by a public accountant
In the case of the latter, the expert points out that the costs will depend of the jurisdiction where the certification takes place. On the other hand, the specialist remembers that, in case of not having supporting documentation, transfers are likely to be declined, returning the securities to the issuer, freezing balances And till blocking accounts.
In the case of not justifying the funds, AFIP may suppose tax evasion and initiate legal actions
“At the same time, AFIP, By having this information you can Start a intimation a to declare the source of funds. If there is no supporting documentation to justify the income, movements and expenses, the Treasury will assume tax evasion and will have the power to initiate legal action with the aim of paying the corresponding taxes”, he warns.
Finally, the specialist recalls that, in the case of accreditations in foreign currency, being higher values, it can be incurring in faults to Criminal Exchange Law which establishes fines of up to 10 times the amount traded, as well as prison sentences up to 4 years.
