Money laundering via illegal gambling: a growing model for local gangs

Money laundering is increasingly being conducted through illegal online gambling, a model that is becoming more prevalent among local criminal gangs in Argentina. The traditional image of drug traffickers carrying bags of cash to financial "caves" is becoming outdated as money is no longer physical but exists as credits in online casinos or transfers to virtual wallets.

Argentine justice is struggling to keep pace with these evolving methods, which are already a multi-million dollar business in Mexico and Brazil. These mechanisms, which the state has yet to fully visualize or pursue in depth, are now appearing in Argentina. A case involving the gang "Los Menores," known for violent crimes to control drug sales, highlights how virtual casinos have become an organic source of financing, not just a side business.

The system can be broken down into stages of complexity. Initially, platforms like Casino Zeus, Bet32, Jugalodos, and Pulpo restrict users from registering independently. Only an intermediary, like the fugitive Fernando Cappelletti, could create accounts and load credits. This forces a human chain of "cashiers" to facilitate transactions, making the chain itself the mechanism for laundering. Cappelletti offered "unlimited chips" at a 15% commission, proposing a franchise model to build new cashiers, promising sales increases.

The next step involves the pyramid sale of chips, where individuals like Dipietri bought chips from Cappelletti and resold them to other cashiers, keeping a margin. This process moves money up the chain while obscuring its traceability. The core of the operation lies in virtual wallets, where transfers to aliases on platforms like Mercado Pago are used. This method fragments large sums into thousands of smaller transfers, depersonalizes transactions through aliases, and operates outside traditional banking channels, bypassing reporting obligations for payment service providers.

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