Argentine authorities arrested 24 people this week in a nationwide sweep targeting crypto fraud, seizing over $8 million in USDT. The Buenos Aires Public Prosecutor's Office coordinated 90 simultaneous raids under the banner of 'Fake Coins,' an operation prosecutors say is among the biggest crypto-enforcement actions the province has ever seen.
90 raids in a single day
The scale is hard to miss. Federal and provincial police teams hit locations across Argentina at roughly the same time, moving on suspects tied to a network that allegedly used fake cryptocurrency investment schemes to defraud victims. The prosecutor's office hasn't released a full list of charges yet, but the 24 individuals taken into custody now face fraud and money laundering investigations.
USDT haul tops $8 million
Alongside the arrests, officers seized digital assets totaling more than $8 million in Tether's USDT stablecoin. That's a significant chunk of change in a country where crypto adoption has surged in recent years as Argentines hedge against inflation and currency controls. The seizure alone marks one of the largest single confiscations of stablecoins in a Latin American enforcement action.
One for the record books
The Public Prosecutor's Office described the operation as one of the largest crypto-enforcement actions in Buenos Aires province's history. That's not faint praise — Argentina has seen a growing number of crypto fraud cases, from Ponzi schemes to fake exchanges. The coordinated nature of the raids suggests investigators had been building the case for months, likely tracking wallet addresses and transaction flows.
For now, the 24 suspects remain in custody. The prosecutor's office has not disclosed whether more arrests are expected or when the defendants will be formally charged.
