Argentina · Politics

Argentina’s economy minister, Luis Caputo, faces a criminal complaint over a mining deal that made a power company six times its money. A lawyer filed it in a Buenos Aires federal court on Friday 18 September.

A complaint is only a request to investigate, and no court has found any wrongdoing. It still gives the opposition a legal hook for a political attack on President Javier Milei’s flagship investment regime.

The Palacio de Hacienda in Buenos Aires, seat of the Economy Ministry led by Luis Caputo (Photo: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

What the Complaint Says

The lawyer Virginia Marta Cassola named Caputo and the directors and shareholders of Central Puerto, a major power generator, La Política Online reported. The case fell to federal court number 11, now run on an interim basis by Judge Ariel Lijo.

She asks investigators to examine possible negotiations incompatible with public office, breach of official duties, fraud and misuse of privileged information. At the centre is whether Caputo intervened irregularly to approve tax benefits for AbraSilver’s Diablillos project.

Diablillos is a gold and silver project straddling the provinces of Salta and Catamarca in the north-west. The complaint argues the approval was meant to produce an extraordinary gain for Central Puerto.

No prosecutor had been named by Sunday, and no response from Caputo or Central Puerto to the complaint was found. Judge Lijo must first decide whether to pass it to a prosecutor for investigation.

What Central Puerto does. Central Puerto S.A. engages in the electric power generation activities in Argentina. It operates in three segments: Electric Power Generation From Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation From Renewable Sources and Forest Activity, and Management and Operations of Thermal Plants. The company's power generation assets include combined cycle, gas and steam turbine, co-generation,…

The Deal Behind It

Central Puerto paid US$25 million for its stake in AbraSilver, a Canadian mining company, in 2024. After the project won approval under the government’s investment regime, it sold the stake for US$163 million, The Rio Times reported on 19 September.

The regime, known as RIGI, was created by the 2024 Ley Bases reform law to attract large investments. It offers qualifying projects a 25% income tax rate, 30 years of regulatory stability and gradual freedom to keep export dollars abroad.

Caputo confirmed the Diablillos approval on 27 February, AbraSilver said in March. The opposition deputy Rodolfo Tailhade questioned the transaction as soon as the sale became public.

Critics also point to Nicolás Caputo, a businessman described in the press as the minister’s cousin and once a Central Puerto shareholder. La Nación reported in December 2022 that he had sold his stake of nearly 3%.

A Second Complaint by the Same Lawyer

Cassola filed a separate complaint on 7 September against Caputo, Energy Secretary María Tettamanti and other officials. It concerned Southern Energy’s admission to RIGI, which she linked to a firm sanctioned for operating in the Falklands, Noticias La Insuperable reported.

The two cases are distinct and neither has produced a finding. Together they show the investment regime turning into a legal battleground, not only an economic policy.

Strains Inside Milei’s Camp

The government’s political committee fell into crisis after Senator Patricia Bullrich said the votes to abolish the PASO primaries were not there. La Política Online reported the row on 17 September.

Abolishing the PASO, Argentina’s compulsory open primaries, is a goal of Karina Milei, the president’s sister and chief of staff. Bullrich, a former security minister, now leads the ruling party’s senators.

Infobae reported that Bullrich sat at the political table with Karina Milei and adviser Santiago Caputo two days before the row. She later complained she had not been told about spending cuts in disability policy.

Milei keeps only 39% of the voters who backed Bullrich in 2023, La Política Online reported. La Nación found his support among them fell eight points from August.

Congress Asked to Approve 26 Military Exercises

The government also sent Congress a bill to authorise 26 combined military exercises with foreign forces, Mendoza Post reported on 19 September. Registered as 0011-PE-2026, it covers September 2026 to August 2027.

The constitution and Law 25,880 require congressional approval for foreign troops to enter and Argentine troops to leave. In August the government had already authorised four exercises by decree, including Fraterno with Brazil and Viekaren with Chile.

The full list of exercises and partner countries has not been published. The bill joins a crowded agenda for a Congress where Milei’s party lacks a majority.

What Comes Next

Judge Lijo will decide whether the complaint is forwarded to a prosecutor and investigated. A prosecutor can then order evidence to be gathered or ask for the case to be closed.

For foreign investors, the case matters less for its legal prospects than for what it says about RIGI’s politics. The regime was designed to promise stability, and every controversy tests that promise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: La Política Online, on the complaint against Caputo, The Rio Times, on Central Puerto’s AbraSilver sale, Noticias La Insuperable, on the Southern Energy complaint, La Política Online, on the political committee crisis, La Nación, Poliarquía poll, Mendoza Post, on the military exercises bill