Argentina Investigates Pastor of $50M ‘Miraculous Dollars’ 

Federal authorities in Chaco have authorized the lifting of tax, banking, and financial secrecy for Pastor Jorge Ledesma, his family, and entities linked to the Iglesia Cristiana Internacional. The measure aims to clarify the origin of millions in funds and investigate alleged irregularities in the organization’s financial management.

The federal court of Chaco Province, Argentina, on Monday (July 21) authorized Prosecutor Patricio Sabadini and Judge Zunilda Niremperger to lift the tax, banking, and financial secrecy of Pastor Jorge Ledesma, his family, a foundation, and a company linked to the Iglesia Cristiana Internacional (International Christian Church), according to media reports.

The move aims to investigate possible money laundering and tax evasion schemes that allegedly financed the construction of a recently inaugurated church where President Javier Milei delivered a speech, as previously reported by Diario Cristiano.

The court’s decision includes requests for information from the Central Bank, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), and the Revenue and Customs Control Agency (ARCA). The investigation is based on Argentina’s Tax Criminal Law and regulations targeting money laundering and asset concealment.

One of the irregularities uncovered is the church’s failure to file financial statements with Chaco’s Public Registry of Commerce since 2016. “We don’t know how they spend their money or how much income they’ve received since then,” a judicial source said.

So far, there are no formal charges or indictments in the case. The main obstacle for investigators is the large number of anonymous donations from churchgoers, which complicates efforts to trace the origin of the funds.

In recent months, Ledesma and his congregation have held a “School of Supernatural Finances” in Chaco, promising prosperity through a model in which five out of seven methods involved donations to the pastor. Prosecutors suspect these methods may have been used to launder money from suspicious sources.

The investigation began ex officio following the so-called “$100,000 miracle,” an incident in which Ledesma allegedly received that amount through supposed blessings.

The Economic Crime and Money Laundering Prosecutor’s Office (Procelac) is expected to join the investigation once the winter judicial recess ends.