Media revelations have brought renewed attention to a long-running judicial probe involving Peronist former Lomas de Zamora mayor Martín Insaurralde and his ex-wife Jesica Cirio. On Saturday, the La Nación daily reported the existence of seven previously unpublished videos that allegedly show Cirio, a well-known actor and model, handling large amounts of cash inside a property previously linked to the former couple. According to the newspaper, the footage – reportedly recorded in 2023 – is relevant to an ongoing investigation into alleged illicit enrichment and
money-laundering involving the former couple. La Nación said the videos feature Cirio inside a dressing room at a house in the gated community of Fincas de San Vicente, in Buenos Aires Province. In the footage, the television presenter appears to open drawers, shelves, suitcases and concealed compartments containing hundreds bundles of US dollar banknotes, seemingly all dollar bills. The report said the room was located on the upper floor of the residence shared by the couple before their separation and formed part of the master
bedroom suite. In a statement issued Saturday, Cirio said that her personal files had been hacked as part of a blackmail plot and suggested the footage had been manipulated. Cirio’s lawyer Claudio Caffarello said his client first reported alleged extortion attempts linked to the videos more than a year ago and that a criminal investigation into the matter is ongoing. Furthermore, the lawyer argued that the images could show “dollars belonging to her” that are “fully accounted for in her tax returns, based on her
private business activities.” He noted that, as recorded in the court file, at the time of their separation the TV presenter handed over US$250,000 to Insaurralde – a fact which, in his view, would explain the origin of the funds. The veracity of the footage has not been confirmed, nor whether it has been manipulated. Insaurralde has not commented publicly on the footage. ‘Yachtgate’ The existence of the recordings has previously been referenced in court proceedings, said La Nación. The newspaper said prosecutor Sergio Mola
has requested testimony from a journalist who claimed to have viewed the footage, while Judge Luis Armella has asked the TN television news channel to confirm whether it possesses copies of the videos. The investigation stems from the so-called “Yategate” scandal that erupted in 2023 when images were published showing Insaurralde holidaying in Marbella with model Sofía Clerici aboard a luxury yacht. The photographs, which showed the couple enjoying an extravagant Mediterranean holiday and featured expensive gifts, triggered public controversy and criminal complaints alleging illicit
enrichment. At the time, Insaurralde was one of the most senior officials in Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof’s administration, serving as Cabinet chief. A veteran Peronist politician aligned with Kirchnerism, Insaurralde had previously spent more than a decade as mayor of Lomas de Zamora, one of the ruling movement’s most important political strongholds in Greater Buenos Aires. The scandal erupted just weeks before Argentina’s 2023 general election, prompting Insaurralde to resign both his provincial government post and his candidacy for a local council seat.
Kicillof accepted his resignation, while then-Peronist presidential candidate Sergio Massa publicly called for him to step aside. Federal prosecutors subsequently opened an investigation into the origin of the funds used by Insaurralde, Clerici and Cirio, examining whether their assets and expenditures were consistent with declared income. Since then, investigators have carried out searches, requested banking information and ordered forensic examinations of the wealth and assets of those under investigation. In 2024, the Federal Criminal Cassation Court upheld a broad freeze on the assets of the
three individuals linked to the case. Local media have also reported that investigators are examining overseas transfers made by Cirio amounting to nearly US$500,000, as well as other financial operations that may have been used to conceal or justify undeclared income. Insaurralde had previously faced scrutiny over reports concerning the financial terms of his divorce from Cirio, while both women were later drawn into the broader investigation that followed the Marbella scandal. The scandal has re-emerged just as President Javier Milei’s Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni
is embroiled in a scandal over his big-spending lifestyle, including lavish family holidays and undeclared property purchases for amounts far exceeding his official earnings. Last week, Adorni admitted that he hid as much as US$500,000 in savings from Argentina’s tax authorities and that he and his wife had saved “under the table, like all Argentines.” Adorni says he earned his money from private business activities and cryptocurrency investments before he became presidential spokesperson in December 2023. – TIMES/NA/PERFIL
Martín Insaurralde, Jesica Cirio, cash videos, illicit enrichment, money laundering, Yategate, Sergio Mola, Luis Armella, TN, Fincas de San Vicente, Marbella yacht, Sofía Clerici, Manuel Adorni