AFA financier case close to Chiqui Tapia also engulfs Argentine tennis | OneFootball

Ignacio Javier Uzquiza, treasurer of the Argentine Tennis Association since June 2022, when Agustín Calleri and Mariano Zabaleta renewed their terms as president and first vice president, respectively, was summoned to give a statement as a defendant by federal judge Luis Armella, at the request of prosecutor Cecilia Incardona and the tax agency ARCA, as one of those implicated in the case investigating Ariel Vallejo, the AFA financier close to Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, who in turn will be questioned next Tuesday, May 26, over money laundering charges.

Armella’s court is investigating alleged schemes involving aggravated tax evasion and money laundering, with ramifications in the financial world and in soccer. Prosecutor Incardona is investigating the existence of an organization that had at one time been embedded in the senior management of Club Atlético Banfield — of which Uzquiza was a member — and which allegedly operated independently but in connection with the holding company Sur Finanzas (owned by Vallejo), and did not act merely as a lender but rather formed the operational core of a money-laundering organization.

According to sources in the investigation consulted by LA NACION, the prosecutor assigned Eduardo Juan Spinosa the role of leader and organizer, taking into account his dual status as president of Banfield and president of Banfileños S.A., the company that was part of the Reconstrucción Banfileña trust. In the view of the courts, the scheme allowed the financing and income of the club from Greater Buenos Aires to be diverted to accounts controlled by the club’s own executives, instead of going into Banfield’s coffers.

There is said to have been an overlap of roles: as club executives on the one hand, and as officers and shareholders of Banfileños S.A. on the other. The prosecutor argues that Federico José Spinosa (who was secretary and Eduardo’s brother) and Uzquiza (through his control of the treasury) provided the signatures and authority needed to consolidate these abusive transactions. And that Oscar Fabián Tucker, who served as first vice president, guaranteed the political and legal continuity that prevented the harmful contracts from being reported or internally audited.

Eduardo Spinosa, who in 2023 was in his second term at Banfield when he signed contracts with Sur Finanzas (having already served from 2012 to 2018), was summoned to appear on June 18 on charges of “criminal association as leader, fraud through fraudulent administration, and aggravated money laundering as co-perpetrator.”

Uzquiza, treasurer of Banfield during Spinosa’s presidency and also during that of Lucía Barbuto (between 2018 and 2021), faces charges for the alleged crimes of “criminal association as a member, in material concurrence with fraud through fraudulent administration as co-perpetrator.” Currently an AAT official, he was summoned to appear on June 24 at 10 a.m. Federico Spinosa and Tucker will also be questioned.

Uzquiza’s cellphone has already been seized for forensic examination. In addition, all those charged and summoned were subjected to the following measures: periodic reporting to the court, retention of their travel documents, a ban on contact among the defendants, and a restriction preventing them from going more than one hundred kilometers away from the courthouse. Meanwhile, the National Directorate of Migration was informed that the Spinosas, Uzquiza, and Tucker are barred from leaving the country without prior authorization.

Influence in the tennis world

Uzquiza is a journalist who worked at the Télam agency and is the son of a former leading Clarín sports journalist (Pedro Uzquiza, who died in 2003). He inherited from his father, in particular, a passion for Banfield. He holds a degree in Political Science and was related by marriage to Mariano Zabaleta, as he was married to Rosario Zabaleta, sister of the executive and former player from Tandil.

During the AAT presidential election in May 2018, which was one of the most disputed and closely fought in history (with active involvement from national, provincial, and Buenos Aires city politics), it is believed that Uzquiza was a key strategic figure in securing the votes of several clubs whose main activity and financial support come from soccer, in favor of the faction backed by most members of the Legión (Calleri, Zabaleta, Guillermo Coria, and José Acasuso, among others).

At that time, Uzquiza already had duties at Banfield and was linked to president Spinosa. That afternoon, May 3, 2018, at GEBA, in addition to Spinosa, Matías Lammens (San Lorenzo) and Nicolás Russo (Lanús) also came to vote. In fact, at that moment the influence of “soccer” became so great that River, which had a representative (Daniel Fidalgo) on the ruling slate headed by José Luis Clerc, is said to have voted in favor of “Experiencia y Cambio,” the one led by Calleri-Zabaleta.

That was not the first time soccer had exerted influence in an AAT election. In 2005, the forerunner was Alicia Masoni, widow of Enrique Morea, who already had weight in the Argentine Olympic Committee and internationally. She met with AFA president Julio Grondona to ask for support for her husband in the AAT elections. In a heated voting process marked by various complaints, Morea was re-elected after defeating opposition candidate Ricardo Taboada.

Returning to Uzquiza, he worked at the consulting firm Consuasor, was press officer for congresswoman Silvia Majdalani (PRO, 2010-2011), and adviser to Secretary for Cooperation with the Judiciary Darío Ruíz (in 2012 and 2015).

In 2022, Calleri renewed his term as AAT president for four years (2022-2026). Unlike what happened in 2018, no opposition option was presented. And Uzquiza, who did not hold an official position but remained close to the leadership, replaced Pablo Guidotti as treasurer, the latter having served as Treasury secretary during Carlos Menem’s government.

After Calleri, Zabaleta, and Martín Jaite, Uzquiza is now one of the officials with the most influence and activity in the AAT. And not only because of his role as treasurer. He has headed the delegations of the Davis Cup teams several times, especially when Calleri and Zabaleta did not travel with the group, as in the most recent tie in February in South Korea. In January 2025 he also traveled to the tie in Norway and gave the country’s prince, Haakon Magnus, an Argentine jersey. On other occasions, as a member of the board, Uzquiza presented awards at tournaments organized by the AAT and, last month, represented the Association together with Calleri and Gastón Brum (executive director) at an ATP and South American Tennis Confederation (Cosat) meeting in Cartagena. On Davis Cup trips, Uzquiza is usually the one who informs players of the financial bonuses they will receive (sometimes Lucas Shedden from marketing does as well), and he has even shared downtime with the players by playing cards during training camps.

This judicial situation involving Uzquiza comes at an important institutional moment for the AAT, which has just called its full and associate members to an ordinary general assembly on June 16 (eight days before Uzquiza gives his statement and on the same day the Argentine national team will make its World Cup debut), at the Buenos Aires club Deportes Racionales, to review the “Annual Report, General Balance Sheet, Inventory, Statement of Expenses and Resources, and report of the Supervisory Committee for the fiscal year ending 12/31/2025” and then to hold the election of the “new” board of directors, made up of fifteen regular members and four alternates, for a four-year term.

Although a group of former players from the 1970s and 1980s (not involved in the slate headed by Batata Clerc), together with other people from the current board, studied the possibility of joining forces to put forward an opposition slate, they did not move forward. Therefore, Calleri (who is also president of Agencia Córdoba Deportes and aligned with Governor Martín Llaryora) and Zabaleta will have no opposition for the second time and will renew their mandate until 2030, completing twelve years in power in national tennis.

Until a few weeks ago, Calleri and Zabaleta’s idea was for Uzquiza to remain as treasurer: it remains to be seen how they will act in the face of a scenario that places him in a highly exposed position that does not appear transparent, and even more so if AAT members and associates demand explanations in this regard.

Calleri: “I have full confidence in him”

LA NACION asked Calleri and the AAT press department about Uzquiza’s situation. And the head of the AAT responded as follows:

“At the Argentine Tennis Association, we are closely following the news reports, but also with a strong sense of institutional responsibility.

Ignacio Uzquiza has been part of our team for years and has always shown commitment, seriousness, and enormous dedication to the development of Argentine tennis. Personally, I have full confidence in him, in his integrity, and in the way he conducts himself.

I have known him for many years, I know how he lives, I know his nature and the transparent and responsible way in which he has always worked. Therefore, beyond any judicial proceeding that may exist, my personal and professional confidence in Ignacio remains intact.

We understand that this is a judicial matter in which it is appropriate to be prudent and respectful of due process. So far, there is no situation that alters either the relationship or the role Ignacio has been carrying out within the AAT.

As appropriate, we have discussed the matter and he conveyed calm to us regarding his situation. We trust that he will be able to clarify it in the appropriate venue.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.