Claudio Tapia, President of the Argentine Football Association, speaks during the unveiling of the new AFA offices in Wynwood, December 7, 2023.
Miami Herald file
As Argentina’s storied soccer team reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup, federal authorities are investigating Argentina’s soccer federation for possible fraud and money laundering related to hundreds of millions of dollars in bank transactions tied to the United States, according to two law enforcement officials in Washington and Miami familiar with the investigation.
The FBI is leading the investigation into the financial operations of the Argentine Football Federation, led by President Claudio Tapia, who was in Miami last week to mark the country’s victory over Cape Verde. Argentina will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.
La Nación, the Argentine newspaper that broke the story Wednesday, reported that the FBI is investigating how the AFA transferred more than $300 million to banks and companies in South Florida and elsewhere.
The Argentine newspaper reported that FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors questioned Argentine sports entrepreneur Guillermo Tofoni during the game against Cape Verde. The FBI is reportedly seeking evidence of the AFA’s activities under Tapia’s leadership and its relationship with TourProdEnter LLC, a South Florida company that handled the association’s foreign commercial contracts.
The FBI’s questioning of Tofoni reportedly focused on how the AFA structured its international trade agreements and whether its transactions with U.S.-based banks and companies may have violated U.S. law by concealing potentially illicit funds and their purpose. No charges were filed in Argentina.
Meanwhile, Tapia remains in the United States as Argentina continues its run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Argentine courts granted Tapia permission to travel despite him facing charges in his home country over alleged mismanagement of tax and social funds totaling more than 19 billion Argentine pesos ($12.7 million). This is unrelated to the AFA investigation in Miami.
No formal charges have been filed in the United States in connection with the AFA investigation.
On Wednesday, the FBI’s Miami field office declined to comment on the investigation or its existence.
In March, the Miami Herald reported on the AFA’s connection to several “virtual offices” in Miami-Dade County. One is for TourProdEnter LLC in Aventura.
The Aventura-based company is at the center of a sprawling financial network tied to Argentina’s top soccer authority, according to confidential bank records and corporate documents reviewed by the Miami Herald.
READ MORE: Miami shell companies linked to $260 million Argentine soccer scandal
“We are talking about at least $260 million… and it is a preliminary figure that will increase,” said Nicolás Pizzi, an investigative journalist for the Argentine newspaper La Nación, who published the original story on the soccer scandal this year. Pizzi spoke to the Herald in March at a forum in Miami organized by the Inter-American Institute for Democracy.
The scandal has expanded into an international investigation, putting Miami at the center of a complex web of shell companies, offshore transfers and murky financial flows that may have misled U.S. banks about the potentially illicit nature of the funds and how they were used. At its core lies a familiar pattern: money moves quickly, unclear ownership and oversight struggle to keep up.
But some of the most telling details La Nación has uncovered go beyond corporate structures and bank transfers — and how the money was allegedly spent.
According to the Argentine newspaper, the AFA paid $340,000 to the family of a so-called “spiritual leader” who traveled with the national team to major tournaments, including the Copa América in 2024 and this year’s World Cup. The payments – 17 transfers of $20,000 each – went to the son of José Almaraz, a former player described as a spiritual leader close to the AFA leadership. Almaraz’s role was never officially defined, but top officials believed he would bring good luck and all of his travel expenses were covered.
The same report identified other questionable transfers, including $468,000 to a company affiliated with AFA Treasurer Pablo Toviggino, $40,000 to his business partner, and $2.3 million to a U.S.-registered company linked to an individual without a clear financial profile.
Taken together — along with $42 million funneled through shell companies in Florida and at least $16.5 million in luxury spending — investigators have so far uncovered about $90 million in potentially irregular use of funds.
Because the transactions involved American banks and companies registered in Florida, the case has attracted the attention of US authorities. As cross-border cooperation between U.S. and Argentine authorities continues, investigators are examining whether any laws have been violated, including those related to money laundering or the disclosure of financial information.
Legal experts warn that cases of this magnitude – which span multiple countries and financial systems – can take years to resolve.
Jay Weaver writes about federal crime at the intersection of South Florida and Latin America. Since joining the Miami Herald in 1999, he has continually covered federal courts, from Elian Gonzalez’s custody battle to Alex Rodriguez’s steroid abuse. He was part of the Herald team that won the 2001 and 2022 Pulitzer Prizes for breaking news of Elian’s seizure by federal agents and the collapse of a Surfside condo building that killed 98 people. He and three Herald colleagues were finalists for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting on gold smuggling between South America and Miami.
Shirsho Dasgupta
Miami Herald
Shirsho Dasgupta combines traditional reporting with data analysis to produce impactful stories and responsible journalism. A two-time Livingston Award finalist, he also won a Sigma Delta Chi Award in 2025 and was named a Scripps Howard Award finalist in 2024. His stories have advanced investigations, influenced legislation, and received numerous awards and citations from the National Press Foundation, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, and others.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article316433770.html
