Argentina's central bank chief refused calls to resign on Feb 18, 2001, dismissing allegations he failed to police money-laundering in a scandal that has threatened to destabilize Latin America's third largest economy. Pedro Pou wrote in leading daily, Clarin, that his critics had confused money-laundering with tax evasion, a longtime drag on the economy that he said was the responsibility of tax authorities to curb.

Politicians from both the opposition and the ruling Alliance coalition have