Adorni admits failing to declare US$500,000, denies illicit enrichment

Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni filed his asset declaration on Wednesday, three months after allegations of illicit enrichment first thrust him into the spotlight. In an interview after submitting the filing, Adorni acknowledged that he had failed to declare US$300,000 in bitcoin earnings. He said the gains stemmed from an initial US$200,000 investment — also undeclared — in the cryptocurrency between 2014 and 2018, which significantly increased his assets. The filing comes more than a month after President Javier Milei said Adorni had shown him the details of his personal finances and that they were “clear,” adding that the chief of staff would submit his declaration soon.  In the interview with LN+, Adorni said Milei had “trusted” him from the outset and that, in the end, he “didn’t need to show him anything.” Adorni had until July 31 to file the document, although the original deadline set by the Anti-Corruption Office was May 30. The official, who first served as presidential spokesperson after Milei took office in December 2023, has been under judicial investigation since March. The case began after it emerged that his wife had accompanied him on an official trip to New York, prompting scrutiny of his finances. The judiciary and the press uncovered significant expenditures and several luxury properties that investigators say appeared inconsistent with his declared income and assets. During a recent appearance before Congress, where lawmakers questioned him about the allegations, he declined to provide further details. On Wednesday, however, he offered his first public explanation of the discrepancies. During the interview he denied any wrongdoing, insisting he can account for his wealth. “I made a mistake, I am not a thief,” he said. Undeclared assets According to Adorni, he and his wife, Bettina Angeletti — who is also under investigation — had maintained undeclared and unregistered savings for years, “like all Argentines did.”  He acknowledged that failing to disclose those assets after becoming a public official was “a mistake.” He said that, in addition to filing his 2025 asset declaration, which includes properties purchased over the past two years, he had amended his 2023 and 2024 filings to incorporate assets previously left out. Among the newly declared assets is a house the couple purchased in 2024, after Adorni joined the national government. He said he initially omitted the property from his disclosure because it was registered in Angeletti’s name. The head of Milei’s Cabinet admitted that he considered resigning after the scandal broke. “After speaking with the president, Karina [Milei, presidencial secretary], and others, I realized I couldn’t step down, because if I resigned despite being an honest person, they would come after everyone else,” he said. How Adorni made his money In the interview, Adorni said he had amended his asset declarations from previous years to include roughly US$500,000 in savings, some of which stemmed from cryptocurrency investments. “I made my first savings when my father passed away in 2002. My brother and I found cash in his apartment,” Adorni said. “Later, I met my wife, we got married and combined our savings.” “In 2013, I began exploring the world of bitcoin. A year later, I started investing seriously, although my wife disagreed with the decision. Between 2014 and 2018, those investments performed very well,” he added. The chief of staff said that, after the allegations surfaced, his lawyer advised him that even if the savings themselves had not been formally registered, he was still required to disclose assets accumulated before entering public office. According to Adorni, those previously undisclosed funds account for the marked improvement in his family’s standard of living since late 2023. During that period, he and his family took several trips abroad, purchased a house in a gated community in 2024 and bought an apartment in Buenos Aires in 2025. The purchase of both properties, which were financed through loans, has drawn scrutiny. Adorni defended the acquisitions, saying they were motivated by his desire to move out of his previous home due to security concerns after he became a public official. “It’s not like I started buying properties like crazy,” he said in the interview, stating that his new apartment in the city and the house in the suburbs were purchased with the aim of providing privacy and security for his two young children. Controversial tax regime On Wednesday, the same day he filed his asset declaration, Adorni enrolled in a simplified tax regularization regime. His wife had joined the program 10 days earlier.  The scheme, introduced by the Milei government, allows participants to disclose previously undeclared income and assets without facing criminal prosecution or tax penalties. The regime was established under the “Fiscal Innocence” law, approved by Congress with government backing in December.  The legislation aims to encourage Argentines to bring undeclared savings into the formal economy — particularly U.S. dollar holdings — by reducing the risk of legal and tax consequences. According to press reports, a large number of government officials have joined the scheme. However, Adorni said neither he nor his wife would use the regime to avoid paying taxes and insisted they would pay “all” taxes owed. “My tax situation is nowhere near the threshold for criminal tax liability,” he said.