Argentina’s Prosecutor Office Trains Staff to Trace and Seize Crypto Assets

Argentina’s Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) conducted a specialised training program for prosecutors, officials and magistrates on how to trace, analyse and seize virtual assets. The course, titled “Virtual Assets: Financial Analysis, Tracing, Detection and Seizure,” was delivered remotely on Aug. 19 and Sept. 2 and focused on the technical and legal aspects of handling crypto‑related evidence.

Course content and objectives

The programme covered:

• Financial analysis of digital wallets
• Methods for tracing cryptocurrency transactions across blockchains and exchanges
• Legal frameworks governing virtual assets in Argentina and internationally
• Procedures for imposing precautionary measures, freezing and seizing digital funds

Sessions were led by anti‑money‑laundering lawyer Carmen Chena via Zoom and included practical case studies.

Recent investigations that highlight the need for expertise

Crypto tracing has already been central to several high‑profile Argentine cases:

• The $LIBRA probe, where investigators identified 25 wallets, froze assets, and tracked millions of dollars across Binance, Bybit, OKX, Bitfinex and the Tron network.
• A December 2024 court order seized a USDT wallet containing about $3.5 million in the Rainbowex Ponzi‑scheme investigation, with forensic support from Chainalysis and Qlue.
• In 2022, a court ordered Binance to return Bitcoin to a theft victim.

Broader context of crypto activity in Argentina

Stablecoins dominate peso‑denominated trading, accounting for 94 % of volume, and roughly one in five Argentines uses cryptocurrency. Regulatory oversight has tightened, with the National Securities Commission (CNV) maintaining a Virtual Asset Service Provider registry and requiring AML/CFT compliance. Exchanges such as Bitget have obtained VASP registration, and traditional financial groups are developing peso‑stablecoins for on‑chain settlement.

Implications for law enforcement

The MPF training equips prosecutors with the skills needed to navigate an expanding digital‑asset ecosystem, ensuring that investigations can effectively follow funds, obtain customer records from exchanges, and apply legal measures to restrict or seize crypto assets.