Police raided the home and office of libertarian deputy José Luis Espert on Thursday, as part of the investigation into payments he received from Federico “Fred” Machado, a businessman accused of drug trafficking in the United States.

Espert, a close ally of President Javier Milei, pulled out of the midterms after admitting to receiving US$200,000 from Machado, who is currently in the process of being extradited from Argentina. Espert was the lead candidate for Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party’s list in Buenos Aires province.

The raids were ordered by San Isidro judge Lino Mirabelli, who is leading the investigation into Espert for alleged money laundering. The complaint was filed by Peronist candidate Juan Grabois several days ago.

Espert himself welcomed the police into his home. He was accompanied by his lawyers, TN news channel showed.

Lawmakers have immunity from legal proceedings, but the lower house approved Mirabelli’s request to search Espert’s offices late on Wednesday.

The accusations against Espert

Espert’s campaign became the subject of intense scrutiny last week, when a journalistic investigation revealed he had received money from Machado, who is accused of leading an international drug trafficking and money laundering operation. Machado has been detained in Chubut province since 2021, facing an extradition request from the United States. The request was approved by Milei and Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, mere days after the scandal broke.

While taking him to prison, Federal Police found a contract signed by Machado and Espert for one million dollars at the home of the businessman, although only a US$200,000 transfer has been proven so far. Earlier that day, Machado had spoken about the accusations against Espert for the first time. He admitted to giving him around US$150,000 in expenses for his 2019 presidential campaign and an additional US$200,000 as payment for services as an advisor to a mining project in Guatemala. 

At first, Espert refused to address the accusations. During a television interview, the lawmaker declined to say whether he had received the money. He went on to say that he would not “play along” with Grabois, who reported Espert to the judiciary over the accusations after the investigation was published.

Hours later, however, Espert confessed that he had received US$200,000 from Machado. He claimed that he received the money in February 2020 as a down payment for private consulting work he was set to do for one of Machado’s mining companies. The commission ultimately fell through due to the pandemic.

The economist is also under investigation for taking over 30 flights on Machado’s planes.