The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have launched a broad criminal investigation targeting the financial and administrative structure of the Argentine Football Association, to look into suspicions related to money laundering, bank fraud, and invoice forgery through the U.S. financial system, according to the Argentine newspaper La Nación.

The federal investigations, led by three prosecutors specialized in international anti-corruption, put the financial scheme of association president Claudio Tapia and treasurer Pablo Toviggino under judicial scrutiny, as U.S. authorities seek to reconstruct the decision-making system and money movement mechanism within the association by summoning and interrogating former officials and executive employees.

The newspaper confirmed that the case revolves around banking documents revealing that the company TourProdEnter LLC, based in Miami, managed and passed through at least $260 million from the Argentine association's international contract revenues.

This includes huge sponsorship contracts with global companies such as Adidas worth $60 million and Warner worth $40 million.

TourProdEnter LLC is owned by producer Javier Faroni and his wife Erica Gillet.

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An archival photo of Argentine Football Association President Claudio Tapia: AFP

Claudio Tapia

According to judicial sources, U.S. authorities are tracing about $57 million transferred from those accounts to a network of shell companies and beneficiaries without any clear economic or commercial justification.

Evidence indicates that some of these funds were transferred to companies controlled by individuals receiving social benefits in Argentina, in addition to payments to companies and families close to the association's treasurer, Pablo Toviggino.

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Investigation tracks reveal that the contract between the Argentine association and TourProdEnter grants the latter a commission of up to 30% of the association's total international revenues.

It is suspected that this mechanism was used as a legal cover to create fake invoices for fictitious logistics services, aiming to withdraw tens of millions of dollars outside official channels, and then return them to Argentina in cash through unofficial exchange offices to evade the strict foreign currency controls in the country.

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Claudio Tapia: Photo from Reuters

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3 senior American federal prosecutors enter the scene

Three senior U.S. federal prosecutors have entered the investigation: Patrick Josko, from the Banking Integrity Unit, Christopher Teng, and Michael Berger.

The latter recently led the case that ended with the conviction of Ecuador's former financial comptroller on money laundering charges in Miami.

The scope of investigations expanded to include holding virtual meetings and interrogations with prominent businessmen in the sports marketing sector, such as Guillermo Tofoni, alongside studying the possibility of summoning former officials in the government of Argentine President Javier Milei, who oversaw monitoring the association's operations in recent years.

In the first official reaction, the Argentine Football Association began counter-legal moves within the United States; the association's advisors participated in a legal seminar in Miami, where they emphasized the need to respect the 'presumption of innocence.'

Participants stressed that the preliminary investigative procedures do not mean establishing guilt or criminal responsibility for the association's officials.