Adorni tries to explain his assets to courts in illegal enrichment case

Former Cabinet chief Manuel Adorni has returned to the headlines after submitting a 78-page defence seeking to explain discrepancies in his declared wealth and assets that are being examined in a federal investigation into alleged illicit enrichment.

The filing, presented by his lawyer Matías Ledesma on Sunday night, responds to 20 questions raised by federal prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita about Adorni’s finances during his time in government.

Adorni, previously one of President Javier Milei’s top officials who served as presidential spokesperson and later Cabinet chief until resigning earlier this year, argues in the filing that the evolution of his assets between his entry into public office in December 2023 and his resignation on June 27 has a “reasonable and verifiable” basis.

The investigation centres in part on a gap of more than 43 million pesos between the income received by Adorni and his wife, Bettina Angeletti, and their combined spending during the period under review. 

At the centre of the investigation is a discrepancy between the couple’s declared income and spending.

Pollicita compared family income of 229.7 million pesos with expenditure of 272.8 million pesos plus US$402,578, according to the defence. He identified an allegedly unexplained shortfall of 43.07 million pesos.

In his filing to the court, Adorni’s defence describes the 43-million-peso difference as a “residual gap,” rather than a “manifest disproportion.”

Ledesma said it represented 15.8 percent of total expenditure and 18.7 percent.

Bitcoin claims

A central element of Adorni’s defence is his explanation for why cash and other assets were not reflected in his earlier sworn declarations.

The former official says the money originated partly from cryptocurrency investments made between 2014 and 2018, before he entered government. According to the filing, Adorni and his wife invested just over US$200,000 in Bitcoin, using savings and money from a family inheritance. The purchases were made in cash in face-to-face transactions between individuals, outside the formal financial system, the defence claims.

Adorni says he progressively liquidated eight Bitcoin addresses between 2017 and 2018, generating US$591,544.61. The proceeds were received in cash and kept at the couple’s home as savings, according to the filing.

The defence says the transactions predated Adorni’s entry into government and that the cryptocurrency wallets are now empty. It also says control of the relevant wallets can be demonstrated through their private keys.

Adorni previously acknowledged failing to include more than US$500,000 in savings in earlier sworn asset declarations. He said in June that he would pay the taxes, fines and interest due.

The latest filing says the family’s resources also included Angeletti’s income and 73 million pesos from the sale of an apartment in La Plata that Adorni had inherited.

Property purchases

Adorni also sought to explain the details behind two property transactions that have attracted widespread scrutiny. 

Regarding the 2024 purchase of a house in the Indio Cuá gated community in Buenos Aires, the ex-official said US$100,000 was financed through a loan secured against an existing apartment owned by the couple, while the remaining US$20,000 was paid in cash from Angeletti’s funds.

A further US$5,000 entrance fee to the private development was paid from the couple’s dollar savings, the defence says.

Press coverage has also focused on the cost of renovating the property, though Adorni disputes the cost. 

Contractor Matías Tabar previously told investigators that the works cost US$245,000. Adorni’s lawyer disputes that figure, citing a technical assessment that put the total expenditure at US$175,000, which the defence says was paid from Adorni’s cash savings.

The defence also says that US$30,000 paid in cash for another property, in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Caballito, came from Adorni’s cash savings.

The defence also responds to questions about private loans received from Adorni’s mother, Silvia País, and Norma Zuccolo. 

Ledesma argues the agreements were private contracts governed by Argentina’s Civil and Commercial Code and did not require notarisation, special registration or other formalities.

Amended declarations

Adorni rejected the suggestion that amendments to his sworn asset declarations, including the addition of previously undeclared dollars, are an attempt to conceal assets. The filing indeed argues that the corrections instead restored the accuracy of his declarations on his own initiative and therefore should receive favourable treatment from the courts.

The amendments followed Adorni’s admission in June that he had failed to declare substantial savings, including some US$500,000. At the time, he said the money had been accumulated through private-sector earnings and cryptocurrency investments before he joined Milei’s government.

The controversy surrounding Adorni’s finances built for months before his departure, with scrutiny focusing on his spending, travel and property purchases and whether these were consistent with his declared income.

Adorni, who became Cabinet chief in November 2025, resigned on June 27 after months of media scrutiny. He denies any act of corruption.

The prosecutor must now determine whether the documentation submitted by Adorni adequately answers the 20 questions that remained to be clarified sufficiently.

If it does not, he could order further investigative measures and could even summon Adorni and his wife to give evidence.

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL