Lava Jato Operation in Rosario: businessman and ex-police arrested for drug trafficking money laundering
Leandro "Lelo" Pérez, a businessman known for his relationship with Vicky Xipolitakis, was arrested along with former Santa Fe police officers for laundering drug trafficking money.
Eight simultaneous raids in Santa Fe dismantle asset-laundering network
Leandro David Pérez, known as "Lelo", was detained in Rosario along with two other people as part of the so-called Lava Jato Operation, an action by the Argentine Federal Police aimed at dismantling an organisation dedicated to laundering money from drug trafficking, according to lanacion.com.ar.
The businessman gained public notoriety in 2016 for his relationship with vedette Vicky Xipolitakis, and his name subsequently reappeared in judicial records for fraud cases in Santa Fe.
The detainees and the origin of the laundered money
Along with Pérez were arrested Maximiliano Emanuel Novillo—a former member of the Santa Fe Police—and Marcelo Eduardo Malatesta. Sources linked to the investigation indicated that the laundered funds originated from the sale of illegal drugs. Regarding a fourth person under investigation, the court ordered only a search, without detention.
The investigation began on 3 October 2024, when the Office of Economic Crime Prosecution and Asset Laundering (Procelac) ordered a patrimonial report on five people from Rosario: three linked to the Santa Fe Police and two local businessmen.
The financial circuit reconstructed by the Federal Police
The accounting and financial analysis detected inconsistencies between the declared assets of the suspects and their recorded commercial operations, according to the official statement from the Argentine Federal Police. Based on that review, authorised telephone interceptions by the court and documentation gathered over months, officers reconstructed the financial circuit of the organisation.
The scheme consisted of reintroducing funds allegedly from drug trafficking into the formal economy through investments in car sales agencies, construction companies, metalworking firms and other commercial ventures, with the aim of giving them a lawful appearance.
Items seized in the eight operations
With the evidence gathered, the federal judge in charge ordered eight simultaneous raids in Rosario, Funes, Ibarlucea and Pérez. The premises intervened were located on Libertad Avenue and Fraga and Juan José Valle streets, in Rosario; Fuerza Aérea and Ara San Juan avenues, in Funes; Las Calandrias, in Ibarlucea; and two addresses on Batalla de Salta, in the municipality of Pérez.
During the procedures, 202,000 pesos, 2,632 dollars, 750 euros, a 9-millimetre calibre pistol, two lorries, two pick-up trucks, three automobiles, four CPUs, five notebooks, six digital storage devices, seven mobile phones and abundant documentation were seized.
The institutional framework of the operation
The case is being processed before the Federal Court No. 3 of Rosario, headed by Dr. Carlos Vera Barros, Secretariat "A" of Dr. María Candelaria Sagüés. The Procelac is involved, headed by Dr. Andrés Carros Rey, together with the Rosario Delegation, under the direction of General Prosecutor Diego Velasco and Deputy Federal Prosecutor Juan Agustín Argibay Molina.
Operational tasks were entrusted to the Department of Operations against Asset Laundering and Drug Trafficking Financing of the Superintendency of Investigations against Drug Trafficking of the Federal Police.
The operation falls within the Banner Plan, promoted by the National Security Ministry to combat drug trafficking and organised crime in the province of Santa Fe.
The investigation continues
The three detainees were placed at the disposal of the intervening magistrate for alleged breaches of the Asset Laundering Act. The investigation continues with the aim of determining all assets involved, the scope of the detected schemes and the possible participation of other members of the organisation.
Source: Google News AR — Crime