Argentinas chief of staff under fire over new allegations of corruption

Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni is now under scrutiny for several corruption accusations, including the alleged improper purchase of several real estate properties and his wife’s multiple contracts with the state. He had already come under fire for including his wife in the presidential entourage that accompanied Javier Milei to Argentina Week, a high-level diplomatic and financial summit held in New York between March 9-12 to attract international investment to Argentina. On Monday, a journalistic investigation by La Nación newspaper revealed the purchase of an apartment in Caballito for US$230,000. According to the property registry, it was sold by two retirees who, in addition to being listed as sellers, appear as creditors, as they lent him 87% of the transaction amount — a very unusual operation. Both retirees involved in the case denied knowing the public official. It was also known that, in November 2025, in addition to buying the apartment in Caballito, Adorni purchased a house in the Indio Cuá Golf Club gated community, in the Exaltación de la Cruz district, which is registered in his wife’s name.  In his most recent statement filed with the Anti-Corruption Office, Adorni had not reported the sale of his previous property in Parque Chacabuco. His most recent sworn statement covers the 2024 period, as the deadline for filing the 2025 statement has not yet passed. Federal prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita requested that Judge Ariel Lijo issue a series of measures in the case investigating Adorni for alleged illicit enrichment, including subpoenas for property records, vehicle registrations, and financial transaction records. The goal is to identify assets that Adorni or his wife have not declared. Moreover, local media reported a series of payments made by the Government to the consulting firm +BE, owned by Adorni’s wife, Bettina Angeletti. According to the reports, the firm received AR$6,370,000 for “business coaching services” to National Shipping S.A., one of state-owned oil and gas company YPF’s main providers. A protest near his house On Monday, students and professors carried out a public class next to Adorni’s house in Caballito to draw attention to the demands of university workers, because the government refuses to implement a university budget bill. Luca Bonfante, a student leader and activist in the left-wing Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (PTS), was one of the organizers. He said that the rally aimed to highlight the “contradiction of a government that promised to fight the ‘elite’” but instead is “increasingly embroiled in corruption scandals.” “Since the protest, there have been more than 10 police officers stationed there,” Bonfante told the Herald.  “You’d think they were coming for Adorni for failing to fulfill his duties as a public official— as chief of staff, he bears direct responsibility for the violation of the university budget lawBut no, it was a totally disproportionate and excessive operation by the Federal Police, in coordination with the city police, surrounding the public classes and teachers who are protesting in the most peaceful way possible — with chairs, blackboards, and microphones,” he said. Three weeks ago, deputy Marcela Pagano submitted a complaint alleging illicit enrichment in connection with a private flight that Adorni took with his family to Punta del Este during the recent Carnival holiday. Apparently, the trip was financed by Marcelo Grandio, a friend of Adorni who works in the state-owned TV station Televisión Pública.