Argentina’s National Audit Office (AGN), the public-sector oversight body, has raised questions about the management of the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) under Santiago Bausili, a close ally of Economy Minister Luis Caputo.

In its latest audit of the Central Bank’s financial statements, the AGN said gold derivatives transactions resulted in losses of US$1 billion in 2025.

The agency highlighted that, for hedging purposes, the BCRA “entered into dollar-settled derivatives transactions using part of its gold reserves as collateral or underlying assets.”

These transactions resulted in a loss equivalent to US$1 billion, which was paid in foreign currency.

In a public statement, AGN head Juan Manuel Olmos said the institution had conducted transactions “speculating on a particular trajectory for international gold prices” and had “gotten the calculation wrong.”

When gold prices rise, the BCRA loses money on these contracts; when prices fall, it makes money. In 2025, gold prices on international markets surged 64% to US$4,320 an ounce, marking their biggest annual increase since 1979.

Olmos added to the controversy........

© Buenos Aires Herald