June 27 (Reuters) – Argentine President Javier Milei’s cabinet chief, Manuel Adorni, resigned on Saturday following a scandal that led to investigations into his spending in recent years.
Adorni, who was appointed cabinet chief in November last year, is a close confidant of Milei, who initially named him as his spokesperson shortly after taking office in late 2023.
“For the first time since December 10, 2023, I am going against your wishes,” Adorni said in his resignation letter to Milei, which Adorni posted on X. “I am closing this chapter. I leave peacefully and serenely, but above all, with a clear conscience.”
Adorni has been accused of illicit enrichment due to expenses that do not appear to match his income.
He has received criticism for a number of personal trips he has taken with his family, including a first-class holiday to Aruba over the Christmas period, and a private jet flight to Uruguay during Carnival season.
Adorni has said that he built his wealth before entering government and that all trips he has taken with his family were paid for with private funds.
“I haven’t committed any crime and I’m going to show that in court,” he said before Congress in late April, when he gave an address on the state of the country.
But this month, he acknowledged in an interview with newspaper La Nacion that he has saved undeclared money for years “like all Argentines.” He said he had corrected declarations from 2023 and 2024 to reflect about half a million dollars that were previously undeclared.
“The mea culpa I do is for having dragged an involuntary mistake and I am going to pay everything that corresponds,” he said.
Milei has previously defended Adorni, telling La Nacion in May that “no way will Adorni leave” and that “I’m not going to execute an innocent person.”
In recent weeks, Milei has begun to face the fallout from allegations of alleged corruption among his government, as well as purchasing power that has fallen behind inflation. According to a May poll by Opina Argentina, 39% of voters have a positive image of Milei, whose approval rating was 53% more than a year ago.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Writing by Eliana Raszewski and Leila Miller; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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