Argentina
PJ Senators Expanded the Complaint Over the Central Bank’s Gold Reserves
The filing targets Javier Milei, Luis Caputo and Santiago Bausili over new elements regarding the destination and traceability of the bullion. They also asked for the BCRA chief to return to the Senate to provide explanations.
Senators from the Justicialist Bloc expanded the criminal complaint against President Javier Milei, Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Central Bank chief Santiago Bausili over alleged irregularities linked to the destination, custody and traceability of the institution’s gold reserves.
The filing was submitted by Martín Soria, Juliana Di Tullio and María Florencia López to add new elements to the investigation opened on April 28, 2026. According to their argument, the facts could fall under abuse of authority, failure to perform the duties of a public official and embezzlement of public funds.
The focus of the expansion is the differences that, according to the lawmakers, emerged between what Bausili presented before the Senate and the information from the Auditor General’s Office. In Congress, the official said that part of the gold was deposited at the Bank for International Settlements, in Switzerland, and that the 2023, 2024 and 2025 financial statements had passed audits without observations on those operations.
According to Ámbito, the AGN said it could not audit the transfer of the bullion, that the gold placement contracts with the BIS or other foreign custodians did not exist as of that date or as of December 31, 2024, and that the audit for fiscal year 2025 had not yet been approved. It also said it could not analyze the traceability of the reserves because of delays by the BCRA in delivering information.
The complaint also incorporates data that would place the reserves in London. Perfil also reported that the lawmakers maintain that the AGN formally denied Bausili’s statements about the audit and the location of the bullion.
At the same time, the senators demanded that Bausili appear again before the Senate’s Economy and Budget committees. They want him to provide documentation on shipment dates, destination of the bullion, land and air transport, place of deposit, quantity and quality of the gold, as well as the legal and security conditions of the operation.
According to Ámbito, the request also seeks for the BCRA chief to document that the gold transferred was sent to Basel, Switzerland, to the Bank for International Settlements, and that it remains there.
Amid the controversy, the government avoided giving further details and referred inquiries to the Central Bank. Ámbito reported that presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier said Bausili must respond because it is an institution with institutional independence, although he acknowledged coordination between the BCRA chief, Caputo and the Executive Branch.
Regarding his appearance in the Senate, Perfil recalled that Bausili had said the transfer of the bullion in 2024 responded to a market opportunity to improve the quality of the gold at a lower cost.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
