Money-laundering probe in Argentina: $300,000 in chips bought at Mar del Plata casino later cashed out at Tigre

Argentine judge Pablo Yadarola has been investigating a group accused of recruiting compulsive gamblers and moving them to casinos in Las Vegas, and Clarín has now described a local leg of the same alleged scheme. For PSPs and casino operators, the detail that matters is simple: chips were bought in one venue, then turned back into cash in another, which is exactly the kind of flow that sets off AML alarms.

1. Last month, Yadarola ordered more than 30 raids in CABA, the province of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe as part of a case involving an alleged organization dedicated to recruiting compulsive gamblers and taking them to casinos in Las Vegas, United States. The judge has since been promoted to the Federal Appeals Chamber in Buenos Aires and delegated the investigation to prosecutor Emilio Guerberoff.
2. Clarín says it uncovered a local branch of that alleged network: an employee of the suspected organizer Maximiliano Palermo, identified as Juan Guevara, allegedly bought casino chips at Casino Central in Mar del Plata and later exchanged them for cash at the Tigre casino. The combined amount was $346 million in chips, described as roughly $300,000 at the exchange rate at the time.
3. The alleged operation began on 13 May 2025, when Palermo entered Casino Central in Mar del Plata with three other gamblers. According to the report, he carried a suitcase, went to the cash desk of the casino’s special room, handed over $200 million in cash in $20,000 and $10,000 bills, and received chips for the same amount. Testigos said he was later seen playing roulette tables with a $50,000 stake.
4. Later that same day, Palermo returned to the casino with a woman. He reportedly took cash from a backpack and asked to exchange it for $41 million in chips; the woman then carried out another operation for $25 million. The total chips withdrawn that day reached $266 million.
5. The investigation is examining, among other things, money laundering, criminal association, tax evasion and an alleged scheme to remove dollars from Argentina during the cepo (capital controls). During the raids, investigators also seized an ambulance that, according to the case file, may have been used to move cash.

Palermo denied any illegal conduct in statements to La Nación and said he is a “casino agent.” He also denied laundering money. His home was among the properties searched by investigators.