MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei's Cabinet Chief formally charged with alleged illicit enrichment

The investigation expanded with the alleged existence of a two-story home at an exclusive country club community, whose fees are registered under the name of Adorni's wife.

Argentine Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni has been formally charged with alleged illicit enrichment after federal prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita pushed criminal proceedings forward and requested twelve evidentiary measures from Judge Ariel Lijo aimed at reconstructing the official's asset history since 2022.

The case, filed at the Comodoro Py federal courts in Buenos Aires, stems from a complaint by lawmaker Marcela Pagano, a dissident within the ruling party, who flagged a 500% increase in Adorni's declared wealth within a single fiscal period. Pagano cited discrepancies between the official's initial and annual sworn asset declarations, including the omission of financial assets and foreign deposits exceeding 16 million pesos, as well as the addition of USD 24,500 in cash attributed to loans from his mother and an aunt.

The investigation expanded with the alleged existence of a two-story home at the Indio Cuá Golf Club gated community in Exaltación de la Cruz, Buenos Aires province, whose fees are registered under the name of Adorni's wife, Julieta Bettina Angeletti. According to the prosecutor's office, Adorni declared only two properties to the Anti-Corruption Office: a 50% stake in an apartment in Buenos Aires city and full ownership of a unit in La Plata. No property in gated communities or in Exaltación de la Cruz appears in his filings.

Pollicita requested records from property registries in both Buenos Aires province and the capital, reports from the gated community's administration on fee payments and building permits, bank records, vehicle, aircraft, and vessel registries, and all of the official's sworn asset declarations since 2022, including classified annexes. He also sought migration records for both Adorni and Angeletti dating to January 2022 and corporate participation records for the couple and two relatives.

The case was consolidated under Lijo's court after Judge María Servini recused herself and forwarded a parallel file on the official's asset growth. Lijo has not yet ruled on the proposed measures.

Adorni has avoided giving detailed public explanations. At his Wednesday press conference, he invoked his right to patrimonial privacy and stated that undeclared assets simply reflect that his filing deadline has not yet passed. His circle has previewed a mortgage as the explanation for the acquisitions under scrutiny when his declaration is due on May 30.

The charge adds to a separate case investigating a private plane trip Adorni took to Punta del Este with his family and journalist Marcelo Grandio, linked to public television, also before Judge Lijo.