Argentine federal prosecutors have charged Elías Guillermo Pinarello, a former top Buenos Aires provincial police chief, with laundering money from illegal online casinos.
The investigation, led by Judge Santiago Inchausti, describes a network operating since 2020 through three groups, the "Pinarello," "Saraco" and "Di Julio" groups, running unlicensed betting sites including "casino365online.net" and "teambplay.com."
Investigators say the groups laundered funds through "mule accounts" registered to vulnerable people paid for their biometric data, and "smurfing," splitting large sums into smaller deposits to dodge bank controls.
Pinarello’s son had already been detained in the same case
Pinarello's case grew out of that of his son Guillermo, a known poker player already jailed pending trial as an alleged organizer. Prosecutors flagged the ex-chief's spending as inconsistent with his declared income, including a truck bought for $46,900 cash and a property lot paid for with $140,000 cash.
Racing driver Marcelo Letche Doumic and Johnatan Scott were summoned to testify for the first time, while Lucas Zappa and Víctor Hugo Díaz face questioning over crypto transactions; Zappa reportedly received over $4.1m via Binance Pay between 2021 and 2023, and Díaz more than $2.3m.
Courts have frozen ARG20bn in assets across the 13 original defendants. Pinarello is due to testify August 28, with other defendants scheduled through early September.
Recently, Argentina's Federal Police arrested a person in Mar del Plata during a nationwide operation targeting a separate money laundering network accused of using Las Vegas casinos to move illicit funds.
Pinarello’s investigation continues to examine the traceability of the funds, while the accused face charges of criminal association, aggravated money laundering and illegal exploitation of gambling
