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Argentina freezes €4.1M linked to illegal gambling network
A federal judge in Argentina has frozen Roberto Javier Zuco’s assets worth €4.1 million, as Zuco is alleged to be the mastermind behind an illegal gambling operation functioning outside state regulation and tax oversight.
Zuco, 54, was charged with money laundering and organizing illegal gambling after raids in October 2025 in Canning, Buenos Aires province.
Federal judge Jorge Rodríguez imposed the asset freeze and additionally ordered Zuco to remain in pretrial detention.
The investigation started back in 2023, following a tip from an informant about the existence of a structured network that operated under the trade name Celuapuestas.
Judge Jorge Rodríguez said:
“The criminal structure included a network of tellers and ‘mules’: people who made small, fragmented deposits at different banks, thus circumventing the automatic controls of the financial system. Subsequently, the money was laundered through various maneuvers: cash withdrawals, purchases of registered assets, such as vehicles or real estate, and investments in cryptocurrencies.”
As a result of the raids, authorities arrested 19 suspects and seized 60 vehicles on October 15, 2025. National Gendarmerie forces also confiscated 40 computers, storage devices, phones, 3 firearms, and 12 kilograms of cannabis.
The investigation was led by Santiago Marquevich of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Hurlingham. It’s speculated that the illegal activity began in 2020.
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