Operator News

Argentina – Investigation into Buenos Aires lottery corruption deepens

By Phil - 13 October 2016

The investigation into alleged irregularities in the Buenos Aires Lottery is gathering momentum with news that an investigation has now been launched into a number of alleged kickback schemes involving government officials close to the ex Governor of the province of Buenos Aires Daniel Scioli.

Investigators are now focusing on the activities of Domingo Angelini, the godson of former Governor Daniel Scioli, who served as Director of Communications for Lotteries and Casinos, during the time his godfather was governor of Buenos Aires and Pilar Álvarez Olaizola wife of the private ex secretary of the the former governor who worked in the administration of the Communication and Advertising office.

The case is under the charge of Prosecutor Jorge Paolini Head of the Complex Fiscal Case Unit of La Plata, who has ordered that computer files, which which were seized during a raid on lottery offices, be investigated and staff be brought in for questioning.
According to reports, Angelini and Olaizola, will be investigated next month and both officials will be asked to respond to questions regarding irregularities involving the alleged kickback scheme worth millions of pesos. It is believed that money could have also been siphoned off as advertising money and was used illegally to pay for Scioli’s failed presidential campaign as well as for personal gain.

The latest revelations are part of a much larger scandal which is threatening to engulf a number of high profile government officials. The current Director of the Institute of Lottery and Casinos of the Province of Buenos Aires, Meliton Eugenio López, initiated a judicial investigation into an alleged fraud worth $20m pesos in June.

The investigation widened in August after a number of claims were made that corrupt officials could have used money generated by bingo halls and lotteries in the province of Buenos Aires in order to launder money and finance political campaigns. The government also ordered a wide sweeping investigation into the activities of the ex governor for alleged fraud and money-laundering after allegations that he removed more than $20bn pesos in cash before last year’s electoral campaign – a claim that Scioli has strongly denied.

Deputy Elisa Carrió has also accused the ex Head of Lotteries and Casinos for the Lottery of Buenos Aires, Luis Alberto Peluso, for alleged criminal behaviour. Carrió has asked that an investigation be launched into whether there was money laundering “in the highest echelons of Scioli’s government.” Carrió alleges that while Scioli was governor around 1,340 lottery agencies were created and outlined a possible scheme whereby money was siphoned off during the licensing process in order to fund political campaigns.