Authorities on Tuesday raided the headquarters of Argentina’s national football association and several major teams on Tuesday as part of a money-laundering probe.
In a wave of simultaneous raids ordered by a judge, officers searched offices at the Argentine Football Association’s (AFA) complex in Ezeiza, south of Buenos Aires where the national team normally trains, and a number of teams including Racing Club, San Lorenzo, Independiente and Banfield, police sources confirmed.
Raids also took place at premises owned by Argentinos Juniors, Morón, Excursionistas, Los Andes, Deportivo Armenio, Barracas Central, Acassuso, Brown de Adrogué and Platense.
"So far there have been 25 to 30 raids of teams and private homes," the source said, also confirming the raid on the AFA headquarters.
The raids were ordered by Judge Luis Armella in response to a request from prosecutors seeking the lifting of tax and banking secrecy rules for 17 clubs in total.
Agents were looking for accounting information related to finance company Sur Finanzas, which sponsors several teams and is suspected of malpractice.
Last month the DGI (Dirección General Impositiva) tax authority filed a complaint against the firm accusing it of dodging taxes on Argentine pesos equivalent to US$550 million.
The company has carried out a number of business deals in the world of Argentine football and its CEO, Ariel Vallejo, is close to the head of AFA chief Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia.
Last year Sur Finanzas was an official sponsor of AFA and the national team.
Racing Club, one of the clubs raided, acknowledged in a statement that a "commercial agreement with the company Sur Finanzas was reached in 2023."
"As far as this commission is aware, it has only been an advertising and sponsorship contract," it continued.
The club indicated that Sur Finanzas "owes Racing money," without specifying the amount, and clarified that the contract between them will end on December 31 this year.
The case has come to light just as Tapia is locked in a battle with President Javier Milei’s government of Javier Milei over the future of club ownership.
Argentina’s President favours converting football clubs into public limited sports companies, or SADs, a structure that is not permitted under the AFA's statutes.
According to local media, the courts are attempting to determine whether the finance company operated with alleged front men and granted loans to clubs in exchange for, for example, broadcasting rights.
The prosecutor's office in charge of the case has ordered the lifting of banking secrecy on 17 of the clubs under investigation in order to analyse accounting and financial information.
Among the clubs raided is Barracas Central, the club where Tapia was president for almost two decades until 2020 and which was the springboard from which he became AFA chief. His son is currently president of the club.
Another of the clubs that was raided, Club Atlético Excursionistas, denied in a statement any "corporate, financial" or "administrative" ties to the firm under investigation, beyond a typical sponsorship deal.
"Club Atlético Excursionistas informs its members, supporters and the general public that the only link with the firm in question has been a sponsorship agreement, under the usual terms in which the institution enters into commercial agreements for the support of sporting and social activities," it said.
– TIMES/AFP/PERFIL
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