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The FBI and U.S. federal prosecutors are conducting an investigation into the financial operations of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in that country, the Argentine newspaper La Nación reported in recent hours.
The investigation, which according to the outlet began in 2025 and comes amid the Argentine national team's participation in the World Cup—having qualified for the quarterfinals, to be played this Saturday against Switzerland—seeks to determine if any of the AFA's operations in the United States constitute a crime.
In particular, the mechanism for collecting hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with sponsors and other companies through the firm TourProdEnter LLC is being analyzed, and, according to La Nación, U.S. justice officials are investigating whether its activities qualify as money laundering or even fraud through the U.S. banking system.
As part of the probe, investigators recently held a meeting with businessman Guillermo Tofoni, who has denounced the AFA for corruption, and they are considering summoning former officials of President Javier Milei's government, which maintains an open conflict with the governing body of Argentine soccer.
The tension between the government and the AFA—whose leaders are at ideological odds—has been ongoing for over a year and was sparked by the Milei administration's intention to move forward with a model of sports corporations in the country's soccer, something rejected outright by both the AFA and the majority of clubs.
The AFA is also being investigated by the Argentine justice system, where an appellate court in Argentina confirmed on June 26 the prosecution of both the organization and its president, Claudio Tapia, and its treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, in a case investigating the organization and its executives for tax fraud.
The indictments were issued on March 30 for the undue retention of social security contributions and payments of more than 19 billion pesos (approximately 13 million dollars).
With the ratification of the indictment issued by the Economic Criminal Chamber, the case has moved one step closer to an eventual oral trial.
Tapia is currently in the United States for the World Cup, a trip for which he required judicial authorization.
The investigation began following a complaint from the General Tax Directorate (DGI), which falls under the Revenue and Customs Control Agency (ARCA).
In March of this year, the AFA stated in a press release that it had presented "all sworn declarations, reporting in them the entirety of tax obligations and withheld amounts that, in no case, refer to employee contributions under a dependent employment relationship."
[Publicidad]