United States federal prosecutors and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have launched a preliminary investigation into the financial activities of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in the United States over suspected money laundering and fraud.
DIP CONNECT ONLINE NEWS reports that the investigation is examining whether financial transactions linked to the Argentine football governing body violated United States laws.
According to a report published on Wednesday by Argentine newspaper La Nación, investigators from the United States Department of Justice have begun interviewing individuals with knowledge of the AFA's financial dealings in the United States as the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues.
The report stated that investigators are seeking to establish how the football body, led by Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia, transferred hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system and whether any of the transactions breached federal laws.
One of the individuals reportedly interviewed is businessman Guillermo Tofoni, who allegedly participated in a three-hour virtual meeting last week with federal prosecutors and FBI agents based in Washington, D.C., and Miami.
According to La Nación, Tofoni declined to either confirm or deny that the meeting took place when contacted by the newspaper.
The publication further reported that U.S. investigators are seeking testimonies from individuals with direct knowledge of the activities carried out during the leadership of Tapia and Pablo Toviggino, particularly concerning TourProdEnter LLC, a company owned by theatre producer Javier Faroni, which reportedly handled payments relating to the AFA's international commercial agreements.
The report added that American authorities are also considering interviewing former officials of the Argentine government who may have had oversight of, or knowledge about, the association's financial operations.
According to La Nación, the preliminary investigation began taking shape in 2025 and is being led by federal prosecutors Patrick Gushue and Christopher Ting in Washington, D.C., alongside Michael Berger from the Southern District of Florida.
The newspaper alleged that TourProdEnter LLC managed at least 260 million U.S. dollars in revenue on behalf of the AFA. However, based on bank records reviewed by the publication, only part of the funds could be directly linked to identifiable operating expenses of the football association.
It further claimed that an additional 57 million U.S. dollars was distributed among several companies and beneficiaries without any apparent economic justification based on the documents examined.
The report also alleged that some payments were made to companies associated with Pablo Toviggino and members of his family.
According to La Nación, the United States Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comments regarding the status of the investigation before the report was published.
The newspaper added that the Argentine Football Association has continued to emphasise the importance of the legal principle of presumption of innocence while the matter remains under investigation.
ADEOLA KUNLE
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