In Argentina, the government is investigating allegations that the former governor of Buenos Aires Province laundered money generated by bingo halls and lotteries before using the proceeds to finance his unsuccessful run for the presidency.
According to a report from G3 NewsWire, Daniel Scioli from the Justicialist Party is strongly denying claims that he removed just over $1.3 billion in cash before last year’s federal election despite a wide-sweeping investigation into the Provincial Institute Of Lottery And Casino For The Province Of Buenos Aires headed by prosecutor Alvaro Garganta.
The inquiry was started after Elisa Carrio, a national representative for Buenos Aires Province from the minority Civic Coalition ARI political party, asked that alleged irregularities into gaming receipts from the nation’s largest and most populous state be investigated. She claimed that online accounting systems for bingo halls and lotteries were seemingly doctored in order to record a lower percentage of activity with corrupt officials then able to siphon off the difference for their own use.
The probe is part of much larger ongoing investigation into the destination of money that was withdrawn in cash from the provincial treasury and the Banco Provincia in 2014 and 2015 while Garganta has already urgently requested a report on the exact fate of any funds not collected.
“It is my ethical and political duty to confirm that the accusations against me and officials who were in my administration are completely false,” read a statement from Scioli issued on Monday.
However, suspicions remain with Eugenio Meliton Lopez from the Provincial Institute Of Lottery And Casino For The Province Of Buenos Aires, stating in a recent interview with a local radio station that lottery and bingo receipts in the state had risen by approximately 30% since Mauricio Macri from the center-right Republican Proposal political party was elected as the nation’s 57th president in November.