Argentina's lower house of Congress approved money-laundering legislation just weeks ahead of an international review of the country's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing controls. The bill, which enjoyed the backing of President Cristina Fernandez, was passed with 181 votes in favor and 7 abstentions late Wednesday night, according to the lower house's website. The bill now moves to the senate, which is expected to pass the legislation before the end of the month. The Financial Action Task Force – whose 34 member nations include the U.S. – has given Argentina until its next plenary meeting in June to demonstrate its commitment to beefing up its measures against money laundering and terrorism financing following a damning report published last year by the organization. – Dow Jones

Dominant Social Theme: It is necessary to control money and banks for the good of everyone. If fingerprinting is intrusive, we shall use retinal scans.

Free-Market Analysis: What's wrong with anti-money laundering legislation? Plenty if one is oriented toward libertarianism and free-market thinking. Drug-laws and central banks are the two main tools that the Anglo-American power elite is using to control the flow of money around the world and one can see these tools being applied in Argentina. The Financial Action Task Force (see article excerpt above) is increasingly active in demanding that countries control currency with great strictness.