In a shocking financial scandal that’s left thousands of investors reeling, Uruguay’s booming livestock investment industry has been rocked by the revelation that hundreds of thousands of cattle—bought by savers as part of a popular scheme—may have never existed.
Sandra Palleiro, a 60-year-old accountant from Montevideo, traveled 600 kilometers to Artigas, near the Brazilian border, searching for the 61 cows she thought she owned. She invested over $50,000—her life savings—into a program promising high fixed returns through cattle ownership. But now, she can’t locate a single one of her animals.
The program, offered by Conexión Ganadera and two other firms, allowed people to invest directly in cattle or livestock businesses with expectations of 7-10% dollar-denominated returns. These promises, backed by official-looking documents and Uruguay’s globally-praised cattle tracking system, made the deal seem safe and reliable.
However, everything fell apart after a high-speed Tesla crash in late 2024. Gustavo Basso, a co-owner of Conexión Ganadera, died by suicide when he crashed his car at 211 km/h. Soon after, investors noticed payments were delayed. By early 2025, the company admitted it was nearly $250 million short. Investigations revealed only about 70,000 to 80,000 of the more than 800,000 cattle the company claimed to manage actually existed.
Palleiro tried to verify her cows using the national cattle registry system, but the tracking numbers didn’t match any cows on the farms. Many investors suspect the cows were never bought, had their tags removed, or were sold without consent. Some are now calling them “phantom cows.”
Three firms—Conexión Ganadera, República Ganadera, and Grupo Larrarte—are at the center of the scandal. Together, they persuaded nearly 6,000 people to invest millions.
The government-backed cattle tracking system, once praised internationally, is now under fire for failing to detect irregularities. Lawyers allege the system relied too heavily on the firms themselves to input data with little to no oversight.
Grupo Larrarte’s executive is already in prison, and investigations into the other two companies are ongoing. Authorities have barred key figures from leaving the country, and many investors have filed lawsuits for fraud and misappropriation.
This scandal has not only rocked Uruguay, a nation with more cows than people, but also sent shockwaves through neighboring ranching giants Argentina and Brazil, where similar livestock investments are common.
“I feel like I’ve been trapped in a nightmare,” said Palleiro, who, like many others, is still searching for answers—and her cows.
