Beyond prison: Confiscation as a tool to punish corporate complicity in crimes against humanity

Abstract

The article addresses asset forfeiture as a fundamental tool for sanctioning corporate complicity in crimes against humanity committed during the period of State Terrorism in Argentina. It focuses on the “La Fronterita”, which constitutes a milestone in Argentina’s transitional justice, as it marks the first time that a preventive seizure with a view to forfeiture has been ordered on a property belonging to a company whose directors are under investigation for such crimes. This precedent demonstrates that, although the legal possibility of forfeiting the instrumentalities of crime has always existed, its application to cases of corporate responsibility is novel. The case highlights the importance of investigating the economic dimension of these crimes and of prosecuting economic impunity, setting a key precedent for future investigations in Argentina and Latin America, in line with the principles of memory, truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition.