BUENOS AIRES — Law enforcement officials in Brazil on Thursday accused the director of Argentina’s intelligence agency of receiving $850,000 as part of a money-laundering scheme that involved front companies in several Brazilian cities.

The accusation against the Argentine intelligence chief, Gustavo Arribas, who owns several real estate properties in Brazil, is the first time a senior Argentine official in President Mauricio Macri’s administration has been accused in Brazil’s wide-ranging corruption investigation known as Lava Jato, or Car Wash.

Mr. Arribas was an unconventional choice for the job when Mr. Macri appointed him in December 2015. He had no public service experience and had made a living as an agent and broker for professional soccer players.

Mr. Arribas, who has not been criminally charged, said in a statement that he had “no ties” to the Car Wash case. He added that he had once been wired $70,475 for the sale of furniture in an apartment, and suggested that he had been maliciously implicated in an Argentine court in the past.