Argentina's Milei picks Luis Caputo - author of 2018 Macrisis - to lead key Economy Ministry

Argentine President-elect Javier Milei announced that offshore banker Luis Caputo would lead the nation's Economy Ministry upon Milei's inaugural on December 10th.

Caputo, 58, had earlier served in the same post in 2017-18 under right-wing former President Mauricio Macri - presiding over a disastrous "financial bicycle" carry-trade bubble, whose collapse in April 2018 led to a foreign debt crisis requiring a record, $45 billion IMF bailout that saddles the country to this day.

He is also a cousin of local industrialist Nicolás Caputo, 65 - Macri's best friend.

Luis' sister Rossana, 67, was revealed to have transferred 7 million pesos in 2022 (around $50,000 at the time) to far-right extremist Jonathan Morel - two of whose fellow "Federal Revolution" acolytes carried out an assassination attempt against Vice President Cristina Kirchner that September.

Rossana Caputo was never called to testify in what Kirchner's attorneys point to as one of many examples of how Judge María Eugenia Capuchetti - a Macri appointee - has "sat" on the case.

Messy finances

Touted as the "Messi of finances" by Argentine right-wing media, Caputo has likewise enjoyed a long record of impunity from Argentina's largely discredited judiciary.

Appointed Finance Secretary when Macri took office in late 2015 and later Finance Minister, Caputo was among numerous Macri officials and relatives found to have purchased millions in dollar futures contracts ahead of Macri's 40% devaluation that December.

While the devaluation led to 45% inflation by mid-2016 and a severe recession, Caputo's Axis fund made $50 million from betting on the move - a devaluation he himself arranged - plus at least $700,000 at the expense of the nation's social security agency, ANSES.

Caputo, like Macri, was later listed in the 2017 Paradise Papers scandal - and was found to have managed a Miami-based offshore wealth fund, Noctua Partners, and three Caribbean affiliates with a combined portfolio of over $100 million.

Their existence was confirmed in March 2018 by the U.S. SEC - but had not been declared in his financial disclosure, as mandated by Argentine law.

Noctua Partners was found to have offices just two stories above those of JPMorgan - whose timely sale of its Argentine investments in April 2018 helped touch off the "Macrisis."

Appointed Central Bank president in June 2018, Caputo presided over the loss of the $15 billion drawn from the IMF credit line in just three months to prop up the peso - which nevertheless lost nearly half its value.

The trend largely continued after the IMF forced Macri to sack Caputo in September, with an estimated 80% of the $45 billion ultimately lent to Argentina - reportedly at then-President Donald Trump's behest - being lost to capital flight.

Each of these controversies resulted in federal fraud charges - but were all either dropped or remain stalled in court.

At: https://www-pagina12-com-ar.translate.goog/688530-la-historia-de-luis-toto-caputo-el-messi-de-tomar-deuda-a-ci?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Far-right Argentine President-elected Javier Milei gives a thumbs up ahead of his U.S. visit this week, with incoming Chief of Staff Nicolás Posse and Economy Minister-designate Luis Caputo in tow.

The loan-seeking mission, however, left Milei largely empty-handed.

Caputo had earlier served as Finance Minister and Central Bank President under right-wing President Mauricio Macri - during which the public foreign debt more than doubled to $197 billion.

Caputo, a longtime offshore banker, was largely responsible for the deregulation that helped lead to a massive capital flight crisis - some $86 billion of the roughly $100 billion in net added public foreign debt during Macri's 2015-19 tenure.