Uruguay Money Laundering Prosecutor Opens New Case Over Opposition Councillor’s Aide
URUGUAY · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Uruguay, a nation of about 3.4 million between Brazil and Argentina, is usually ranked among South America’s cleanest democracies. Drug money near a party payroll draws unusual scrutiny.
- —What happened On Monday 28 September the specialised money-laundering prosecutor, Enrique Rodríguez, opened a new investigation linked to Operation Trazador, la diaria, El Observador and Subrayado reported.
- —Who is involved Pablo Leiva, a paid aide to National Party councillor Gonzalo Gómez, was sentenced on 18 September to two years and six months. The new case looks at exchange houses and bill-payment offices.
- —What it means for you The inquiry tests whether Uruguay can trace drug cash through ordinary money businesses. That matters to anyone who relies on its name as a clean financial centre.
- —Still open The inquiry is preliminary and its scope is reserved, Subrayado reported. No charge against any politician has been reported as of 29 September.
Uruguay money laundering prosecutors have opened a new investigation into how a drug gang moved its cash. The case grew out of the conviction of a paid aide to an opposition councillor in Montevideo.
Enrique Rodríguez, who heads the Public Prosecution Service’s specialised money-laundering office, decided on Monday 28 September after meeting anti-drug police. La diaria reported it first, and El Observador confirmed it with prosecution sources.
What the new investigation covers
Rodríguez met officers of the national anti-drug directorate for a first-hand report on the case, El Observador reported. With that information he opened a new file, according to la diaria.
The work will centre on how the gang laundered money through exchange houses and bill-payment offices, both outlets reported. Subrayado said the inquiry is preliminary and its aim and scope are reserved.
The prosecution service had said any new evidence about other people would go to the laundering office. At the plea hearing, it said, nothing in the file linked anyone else to laundering.
The conviction behind it
On 18 September drugs prosecutor Angelita Romano reached a plea deal with three members of the group, El Observador reported. Leiva received two years and six months for laundering and trafficking ammunition.
Police seized 2,980,240 pesos (about US$74,000 at 40.08 pesos to the dollar on 29 September) from his home and car, Subrayado reported. The wider operation seized some 260 kilos of drugs, El Observador reported.
In a recorded police interview, Leiva said he kept cash because he “worked for an exchange house”, El Observador reported. His conviction was covered in Uruguay Jails Opposition Party Aide for Laundering Drug Money.
The councillor says he made a mistake
Gómez, of the National Party’s Por la Patria faction, spoke to reporters at Montevideo’s departmental board on Monday. “I take responsibility for the error of having hired this person,” he said, El Observador reported.
He said he knew nothing of Leiva’s illegal activity and saw no grounds to give up his seat. He hired the father on the recommendation of the son, Lucio Leiva, El Observador and Subrayado reported.
Leiva had been on the payroll since December on a nominal salary of 52,000 pesos a month (about US$1,300), El Observador and Subrayado reported. The party’s ethics referral was covered in Uruguay’s Opposition Refers Councillor to Ethics Over Drug-Money Aide.
A payments office and wider pressure
Police had looked at a bill-payment office owned by the wife of Jorge Gandini, la diaria and Subrayado reported. Gandini leads Por la Patria and heads the National Ports Administration.
Gandini denies that any money was laundered there. “We have nothing to hide,” he told a press conference last week, Subrayado reported.
The state integrity watchdog has received an anonymous complaint against all Montevideo councillors, El Observador reported. It asks for a review of their office allowances and adviser contracts.
The governing Frente Amplio called for cross-party talks on transparency in party financing, la diaria reported. Its president, Fernando Pereira, said the National Party should give “a little more explanation”.
The steps so far point to institutions at work: a conviction, a party ethics referral and now a second prosecutor. The Uruguay money laundering file is widening, not closing.
What Is Not Yet Known
Rodríguez has not named any suspect in the new case. No charge against Gómez, Gandini or any other politician has been reported.
It is not known whether the payments office will be formally examined. The National Party’s national board is still due to rule on the ethics referral.
More: Uruguay news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Sources: la diaria, 28 September 2026; El Observador, 28 September 2026; Subrayado, 28 September 2026; El Observador (Gómez), 28 September 2026; Subrayado (Gómez), 28 September 2026; El Observador (watchdog), 28 September 2026; la diaria (Frente Amplio), 28 September 2026; exchange rate: open.er-api.com, 29 September 2026.
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