FBI ‘investigating’ Argentine FA finances in the United States | OneFootball

La Nacion reports that the FBI has opened an investigation into the Argentine Football Association, AFA, and its financial operations in the United States.

US authorities are gathering testimony and seeking to establish whether potential offences such as money laundering or bank fraud may have occurred.

The inquiry is focusing on links between the AFA, led by Claudio Tapia since 2017, and TourProdEnter LLC, a firm that collects income from sponsorship and other contracts.

The company is said to have handled €230 million from the AFA, yet only part can be directly tied to identifiable operating costs. Within that sum, €50 million reportedly went to various companies and beneficiaries without clear economic justification in the documents reviewed.

Tens of millions of dollars are understood to have been paid to firms controlled by people receiving social benefits in Bariloche and Buenos Aires. Payments were also made to companies linked to the AFA treasurer and his family.

A previous investigation found TourProdEnter received 30% of the AFA’s international revenue, net of taxes, over the last four years. The company channelled hundreds of millions of dollars from sponsorship deals, including with Adidas and Warner.

Source: L'Équipe