Santa Fe court re-freezes cryptocurrency accounts in major illegal gambling case

A provincial judge reinstated the freeze on digital assets linked to illegal online betting platforms.

Argentina’s Santa Fe criminal justice system has ruled in favor of the Provincial Government, upholding the freeze on million-dollar accounts linked to illegal gambling.

The case involves two Brazilian citizens and five Argentinians, three men and two women, accused of operating 385 illegal online gambling sites that implicated at least 35,000 transactions, involving minors.

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which filed the lawsuit along with the Santa Fe Provincial Government and Lotería de Santa Fe, the operations took place between June and August of 2024, during which time these websites saw transactions exceeding $16m.

In October 2024, a precautionary measure had been issued. The freeze on digital assets held across various cryptocurrency platforms under investigation was lifted on March 31, in exchange for a dollar deposit to APRAD (Provincial Asset Management and Disposal Agency) of $70,000.

Now, Sebastián Creus, the judge in charge of the case, ordered the accounts to be frozen once again. 

Good to know: Argentina has been actively combating the gambling black market. Recently, an illegal casino has been dismantled in Mendoza

According to the local newspaper, “El Litoral,” prosecutors Agustín Nigro and Carlos Arietti expressed satisfaction with the outcome. Nigro, who is leading the investigation, said: “If the funds had been released, irreparable damage could have occurred, as recovering the money would have been nearly impossible.” 

He also added: “The members of the criminal group used the legal structure of two foreign commercial companies and the financial infrastructure those companies had contracted with a national bank.” 

Carlos Mendez

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Odds tell a story long before the result does. When bettors learn to read that story properly, betting becomes a matter of discipline and value rather than emotion or guesswork.

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