Argentina Securities Commission imposes market bans and a benefit-based fine on Daniel A. Casanovas y Asociados for unauthorised use of client securities

The Argentina Securities Commission (CNV) issued an enforcement decision imposing one of the largest sanctions in its history on the clearing and settlement agent and broker (ALyC) Daniel A. Casanovas y Asociados S.A., after finding it disposed of clients’ negotiable securities without the specific consent required by regulation. The measures include a fine calculated using a multiple of the benefit obtained, disqualification of the firm’s directors, and a prohibition on both the firm and its directors operating in the market. The CNV grounded the fine methodology in Article 132 of Law No. 26.831 and noted the amount is equivalent to around ten times the ARS 100 million maximum fine that would otherwise apply without the benefit-multiple criterion. The decision was based on irregularities in the handling of investors’ client accounts and reiterated the CNV’s June 2025 enforcement approach in the Guardati Torti S.A. case, under which serious breaches attract forceful sanctions; the CNV also highlighted that such conduct undermines core principles of custody, recordkeeping and execution of client instructions.