Milei-linked Fundación Faro told to name donors behind US$4.8mn windfall

The numbers of the Fundación Faro are under scrutiny. The far-right think tank chaired by Agustín Laje submitted its 2024 financial statements to Argentina’s General Inspectorate of Justice (IGJ) regulator and declared more than five billion pesos (US$4.8 million at the December 2024 exchange rate) in "donations." The figure caught the attention of the press – and of the body that answers to Justice Minister Juan Bautista Mahiques. Early in June, the IGJ asked the organisation to provide details about who its generous benefactors were.

The balance sheet issue was first reported by the Chequeado fact-checking website, which in March revealed that the Fundación Faro spent 1.079 billion pesos (around US$821,000, according to Chequeado) on electoral advertising on Meta's social networks (e.g, Facebook) through its Ratio Oficial website between 2025 and 2026. That figure made it the second-biggest spender on political advertising on Facebook and Instagram in Argentina – surpassed only by the official account of the Cabinet Chief's Office.

Fundación Faro's numbers are staggering. The organisation officially launched in November 2024 with a dinner attended by President Javier Milei. It presented itself publicly as a platform to wage the “cultural war,” but was identified from the outset by many analysts as a vehicle responsible for raising private funds for La Libertad Avanza.

Every journalistic investigation into the foundation mentions that Santiago Caputo's brother, Francisco Javier Caputo, is the person in charge of this task. Francisco has, more than once, been described as the foundation's coordinator. Fundación Faro denied this in response to a request from Perfil, insisting that the young man – who has a background as an ontological coach – holds no position in the organisation’s structure.

Perfil also asked about the donors. In total, Fundación Faro held three fundraising events, all at the Yacht Club Puerto Madero, an exclusive venue run by the Neuss Group, led by brothers Juan Neuss and Patricio Neuss – friends of the presidential adviser who have seen their government contracts multiply during the Milei era. "For security reasons and to protect their privacy, the foundation does not disclose the identity of its donors," came the reply.

The think tank’s response spoke of "lies in the media," a line the ruling party repeats in response to any article that questions it. What is clear is that the Fundación Faro and linked figures keep re-appearing in near orbit of many of the major corruption cases that have rocked the government — among them the ‘$LIBRA’ cryptocurrency affair and investigations in which Manuel Adorni features as a central figure.

Fundación Faro's finances

The think tank’s balance sheet and annual report for 2024 reveal the financial anatomy of an organisation that has undergone a remarkable transformation. Up until October 2024, it operated under the name Fundación Valorar, which in 2023 had declared a net worth of just 12 million pesos (approximately US$14,500 at the time) and an income of 49 million pesos (around US$59,000).

The rebranding came with a significant economic leap: Fundación Faro declared assets of 4.394 billion pesos at the end of 2024. That exponential growth is explained by the receipt of 4,957,118,605 pesos under the category "Donations, courses, workshops and prevention."

"All contributions received have been, are and will be entirely formal and processed through the banking system, with the proper compliance checks carried out by Fundación Faro. Unlike other foundations, Faro's process of receiving contributions and donations is conducted entirely in a transparent and banked manner," the organisation said.

The foundation also noted that "all information is submitted at the time of the annual balance sheets, which are duly audited by a leading international firm." This, however, sits awkwardly alongside the IGJ's request this week for Faro to name its donors.

Power struggle?

The regulator's move has been read as another episode in the internal libertarian power struggle: the IGJ is run by Alejandro Ramírez, an official appointed by Mahiques, who answers to Karina Milei – the rival to adviser Caputo. Beyond the political interpretations, the request is no regulatory whim: it is grounded in internal rules that oblige associations and foundations to detail the origin of funds when donations exceed the amount of 40 minimum wages, as Chequeado explained.

When the group’s launch dinner was held in November 2024, the ElDiarioAR website published an investigation revealing that the organisation was charging US$25,000 per seat and that the organisers – with Francisco Caputo at the helm — were targeting major national companies to buy full tables of eight for US$200,000 each. To account for the US$4.8 million declared in the paperwork, 24 such tables would need to have been sold.

As for outgoings, the documents show that Fundación Faro channelled almost all of its funds into the financial sector. By the close of the 2024 financial year, 92 percent of its assets were placed in a diversified portfolio of short-term investments, declared as mutual funds and Treasury bills.

One notable detail concerns its internal structure. While spending on "Wages and social contributions" amounted to 23,952,692 pesos, the entity paid 39,909,029 pesos under the heading "Fees for services" – suggesting a clear preference for contracting consultants and independent professionals over maintaining a large permanent staff.

The foundation pushed back on this reading: "Faro's team is made up of more than 30 employees – a robust and efficient structure in pursuit of its objectives," it said.

Key figures

According to the official line from Fundación Faro, at the time of enquiry, no member of the La Libertad Avanza government features in the organisation's structure. "No employee of the foundation is a public official at the national, provincial or municipal level. There is a rigorous internal human resources process that prohibits any public official from serving as an employee of the foundation," it said.

One who did have to resign before taking up public office is Adrián Ravier, the economist who served as the foundation's academic director. In December 2025, he became a national deputy for La Pampa Province and his place was taken by Martín Krause. As of June, Ravier is now President Javier Milei’s spokesperson.

Laje leads the entity as executive director. His right-hand man, the deputy director, is Chilean lawyer Axel Kaiser.

The organisation's International Council features figures from across the world aligned with the far right. Its president is Alberto Benegas Lynch Jnr, who is joined by German economist Philipp Bagus, Argentine-Guatemalan academic Carlos Sabino, Peruvian lawyer Enrique Ghersi, Brazilian Fernanda Ritter, Spanish citizens Manuel Llamas and Jesús Huerta de Soto, Paraguayan Víctor Pavón, Uruguayan Fernando Doti and Mexican Luis Pazos.

"The country's leading businesspeople and companies contribute to Fundación Faro to deepen the debate of ideas and the well-known culture war. Donors support various activities with contributions throughout the year. There is no fixed or stipulated amount; it depends on the donor, the occasion and each contributor's own wishes," the organisation said.

Links to cases

The idea of Fundación Faro as an ideas platform strains credibility each time it surfaces in a murky affair. Just months after its launch, the explosion of the ‘$LIBRA’ case in February 2025 thrust it in the spotlight. That month, trader Mauricio Novelli – the principal figure in the case – posted a photo taken in the United States alongside his partner Jeremías Walsh and Laje.

The image reinforced a connection that had existed for years: like President Milei, Laje had been a lecturer at N&W Professional Traders, Novelli's trading academy.

The SIDE intelligence agency's reserved funds – under the orbit of adviser Caputo – are a constant source of suspicion too. In May, journalist Carlos Pagni introduced Laje's organisation into the narrative surrounding the alleged illicit enrichment of Adorni.

"What is the level of government involvement? Do the funds come from a private, hitherto unknown operation? Were SIDE funds used? Does Fundación Faro, which financed LLA, distribute money among officials? Is there a system of supplementary salaries?" Pagni asked in one of his editorials.

Caught between suspicions of cross-financing, internal power struggles and a rate of financial growth that defies any market logic, Fundación Faro has passed in record time from being an ideological beacon to becoming an enormous question mark – one that the courts have already begun to examine.