Argentine judicial authorities have ordered the continued detention of Roberto Javier Zuco, recognized by investigators as a central organizer behind an unlawful on-line playing community, whereas freezing property valued at roughly ARS$7 billion, equal to about €4.1 million. The measures stem from a federal investigation into alleged cash laundering and the operation of unregulated on-line betting platforms that prosecutors say functioned exterior tax and regulatory oversight for a number of years.
Zuco, 54, was arrested in mid-October at his residence in the Terralagos gated neighborhood in Canning, an space positioned between Esteban Echeverría and Ezeiza in Buenos Aires province. Federal decide Jorge Rodríguez of the Morón court docket ordered him to stay in pretrial detention and authorized the asset freeze, in line with court docket filings reported by Argentine every day newspaper La Nación. Authorities consider Zuco performed a number one function in organizing and managing the playing operation, together with choices associated to the dealing with of funds and property.
Findings from the Federal Court
In his ruling, Judge Rodríguez described the case for instance of organized financial crime enabled by digital instruments and casual monetary practices. He wrote: “Throughout this case, the Prosecutor’s Office has shown that the defendants set up and operated a clandestine online gambling platform that functioned outside of any state regulation and without tax oversight.” The decide added that the investigation demonstrated “how technology and cash could be combined to conceal illicit proceeds.”
Court paperwork point out that the alleged playing platform operated beneath the commerce identify Celuapuestas. According to investigators, customers accessed betting choices akin to roulette, slot-style video games, and card video games by web sites, social media, and invitation-only hyperlinks shared through purposes together with WhatsApp and Telegram. Prosecutors preserve that the system remained totally exterior Argentina’s licensed playing framework.
The investigation started in May 2023 after an informant alerted authorities to what was described as a structured community providing on-line playing companies with out authorization. Federal prosecutors in Hurlingham, led by Santiago Marquevich with the help of Eduardo Ezequiel Suárez, took cost of the inquiry, with help from the Procuraduría de Criminalidad Económica y Lavado de Activos and the Dirección General de Recuperación de Activos y Decomiso de Bienes.
How the Alleged Scheme Operated
Judge Rodríguez detailed the alleged monetary construction used to course of and conceal playing revenues. He said: “The criminal structure included a network of tellers and ‘mules’: people who made small, fragmented deposits at different banks, thus circumventing the automatic controls of the financial system.” According to the ruling, these deposits had been routed by financial institution accounts and digital wallets formally registered in the names of kinfolk, workers, or people missing the financial means to justify the funds.
Once the cash entered the Argentine monetary system, the court docket discovered that it was cycled by a number of steps to obscure its origin. As Rodríguez defined, “Subsequently, the money was laundered through various manoeuvres: cash withdrawals, purchases of registered assets – such as vehicles or real estate – and investments in cryptocurrencies.” Investigators consider these strategies allowed the group to provide the looks of legitimacy to proceeds derived from unlawful playing.
Raids, Arrests, and Seized Assets
On October 15, coordinated raids carried out by the National Gendarmerie focused a number of gated communities in Canning, together with Terralagos, El Rebenque, and Santa Juana. Authorities arrested 19 suspects in the course of the operation and seized roughly ARS$120 million in money together with 60 autos. Officers additionally confiscated 40 computer systems, storage units, a lot of cellphones, three firearms, and 12 kilograms of marijuana packaged for distribution.
One arrest drew explicit consideration after drone footage captured the second. According to official accounts, Jorge Valdivia, 48, was noticed loading a suitcase containing ARS$12 million right into a four-wheel-drive automobile as he tried to depart a gated neighborhood. He was intercepted on the safety gate and later claimed throughout questioning that the cash got here from winnings on the Casino Central in Mar del Plata. Valdivia was prosecuted as an confederate, positioned beneath home arrest, and subjected to an asset freeze of ARS$2 billion.
Court filings state that the alleged unlawful playing exercise started round 2020. Judge Rodríguez, joined by court docket secretary Ignacio Calvi, concluded that the suspects acted inside an organized construction with outlined roles, figuring out Zuco as one of many principal leaders who issued directions and oversaw asset administration. Despite the arrests and seizures, judicial sources confirmed that the case stays open, with 19 suspects nonetheless thought of fugitives as authorities proceed to research seized proof.
