Argentine judicial official arrested for alleged role in biometric data theft ring

Albertina Mangini, a 44-year-old lawyer who joined the Buenos Aires Public Ministry in 2009, is now in jail. She stands accused of being part of a criminal group that paid people for eye scans. The organization used the stolen biometric data to open virtual accounts. These accounts then funneled money from illegal online casinos.

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The suspension is renewed every 90 days. Now with her detention and summons for questioning, a new suspension has been ordered until the criminal process concludes.

Mangini has been suspended from her duties since February 2025, when she was first charged. Her suspension is renewed every 90 days. Following her arrest and formal indictment, a new suspension will remain in effect for the duration of the criminal proceedings, according to sources from the Buenos Aires Attorney General's office.

She was detained last Thursday under an arrest warrant issued by La Plata's Guarantee Judge Agustín Crispo, at the request of prosecutor Betina Lacki. Until her arrest, Mangini worked in the coordination office of the Public Prosecutor's Office within the provincial agency for released offenders.

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It is not found that Mangini is deprived of her liberty without an order from a competent authority, nor that the measure was adopted without adhering to the requirements of the procedural order. Nor is there evidence of manifest arbitrariness that would justify the exceptional remedy attempted. On the contrary, the arguments developed by the defense essentially translate a disagreement with the guarantor magistrate's assessment of the evidence and the evaluation of the subsistence of procedural risks, but they do not demonstrate that the detention is devoid of legal or factual basis.

Her defense attorney, Guillermo Espinosa Viale, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking her immediate release. However, the Chamber of Appeals and Guarantees in Criminal Matters of La Plata rejected the appeal. The judges stated that Mangini's detention was ordered by a competent authority and followed legal procedures, finding no arbitrary deprivation of liberty. They concluded that the defense's arguments mainly disputed the judge's assessment of evidence and procedural risks, rather than demonstrating a lack of legal or factual basis for the arrest.

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Consequently, as Mangini's deprivation of liberty is based on a prior judicial order, issued by a competent authority, preceded by the treatment and rejection of the request for exemption from bail, and founded on the precautionary measures provided by the Criminal Procedure Code, an illegal or arbitrary restriction of personal liberty is not configured in this case.