MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“The Croatian,” alleged mastermind behind the “blue” dollar, arrested in Buenos Aires

The businessman is allegedly linked to laundering money for the Sinaloa cartel and would also run the largest illegal currency exchange parlor behind the ups and downs of the “blue” dollar

Argentine authorities Tuesday arrested Ivo Rojnica, a.k.a. “The Croatian,” who is believed to be the mastermind behind the US dollar black market, commonly referred to as “blue,” it was reported in Buenos Aires.

Rojnica was apprehended on a warrant from Lomas de Zamora Federal Judge Federico Villena -the same who handled the Venezuelan-Iranian Emtrasur Boeing 747-300 freighter- issued after key information was retrieved from one of the largest financial “caves” (illegal currency exchange parlors) in the Argentine capital.

According to local media, the case against Rojnica dates back five years when almost two tons of cocaine were seized in the city of Bahía Blanca in the province of Buenos Aires. The drug is said to be connected to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, for whom The Croatian allegedly laundered some money. This case is independent of the one conducted by Buenos Aires Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez De Giorgi for The Croatian's alleged involvement in illegal exchange maneuvers by his financial Nimbus Group.

Together with Rojnica, businessman Federico Pulenta, and financier Agustín Estrada Palomeque were arrested amid about twenty raids in the city of Buenos Aires and its outskirts by the Organized Crime Department of the City Police, together with agents of the Tax Crime Department of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) and Customs law enforcement personnel. The three detainees appear in the case as members of several companies dedicated to the movement of money which have been investigated for more than five years, Télam reported.

Meanwhile, lawyer Gastón Marano has resigned as Rojnica's counselor.

According to financial analysts, Rojnica's arrest is expected to be felt like a pin in the “blue” dollar bubble, thus bringing down its quotation in the coming days, which remains to be seen.