The scandal surrounding the chief of staff Manuel Adorni It was consolidated from a series of investigations that put the evolution of his assets under suspicion, particularly in relation to real estate operations in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Caballito and in a country in the Buenos Aires district of Exaltación de la Cruz, in a context where Justice is trying to determine if there was illicit enrichment and irregular maneuvers in the acquisition and improvement of assets.
In the case of country Indio Cúa Golf Club, had as its starting point the complaint presented by the deputy Marcela Paganowhich led to an investigation led by the federal prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita and judge Ariel Lijo. This file analyzes an increase in assets that, according to official records, exceeded 500% in a short period, a variation that the official himself attributed to family loans and asset revaluations, but that investigators consider insufficiently justified.
The property located in Exaltación de la Cruz, is formally in the name of Bettina Angeletti, wife of the official. The purchase was made in November 2024 by means of a deed signed before the notary public Adriana Monica Nechevenkoalthough the ownership would not have been updated in the municipal records, where the original seller, Juan Ernesto Cosentino, still appeared.
A complex repair operation was carried out on that home, which today constitutes the most compromising core of the file. The architect and contractor Matías Tabarlinked to the Alta Arquitectura group, declared under oath that the works demanded $245,929 and that they were paid entirely in cash, without invoices or formal records. According to his testimony, the payments were made in multiple deliveries in dollars, directly in hand and within the country itself, between November 2024 and July 2025.
The original budget of the work, close to $94,000was progressively increased with the incorporation of high-cost improvements: comprehensive remodeling, installation of porcelain tiles, construction of a grill, kitchen renovations with island and breakfast area, travertine marble coatings, and modifications to the pool that included a jacuzzi system. However, the element that focused the most media and political attention was the construction of a ornamental waterfall in the garden of the house.
This curious detail of the “Adorni waterfall” was replicated on social networks as a joke and mockery. Even the vice president Victoria Villarruel He made use of this point by sending a birthday message, through his X account, to one of his followers. “Happy belated birthday. May you have a cascade of successes this year,” posted the formula mate of Javier Milei. A remote-controlled dart, by the president of the Senate, to continue spicing up the internal conflict between libertarians in the Executive.
Although the detail of the waterfall is apparently minor, within the group of works, it has already become a symbol of the case. According to the contractor’s own statement and documentation provided to the case, this particular work had a specific cost of $3,500 and was paid, like the rest of the spare parts, in cash and without receipts. The question about how these types of expenses were financed is one of the central axes of the investigation.
The file also includes elements that point to additional inconsistencies, such as the absence of accounting records, the deletion of messages between the official and the contractor—whose phone was seized for expertise—and the lack of correspondence between the purchase value of the property and the amount invested in its remodeling, which in some cases would have doubled the original price of the property.
Another of the operations under analysis is the purchase of an apartment in Caballito completed in November 2025 for about $230,000. The uniqueness of the transaction lies in its financing structure: almost 90% of the value was covered by a credit granted by the sellers themselves, two retirees identified as Beatriz Viegas and Claudia Sbabowho were also owners of the property. Both contributed $200,000 as a mortgage loan, remaining creditors of the operation, which raised doubts about the economic logic of the agreement and the link between the parties.
The researchers also focused on the possible discrepancy between the declared value and the market value of the property, as well as the role of intermediaries and the eventual undervaluation or overvaluation in the operation. Added to this is that, according to judicial reports, the acquisition occurred without the official reporting the sale of previous properties in his sworn statements, which reinforces suspicions about property omissions.
Taken together, the operations in Caballito and Exaltación de la Cruz make up a network that involves lenders, sellers, construction professionals and public officials, and which is today being analyzed by Justice to determine if there were simulation maneuvers, concealment of assets or undeclared income. Meanwhile, Manuel Adorni has rejected the accusations and maintains that he will be able to justify his entire assets in future presentations, in a case that continues to escalate on the political and judicial level.
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