US federal prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation officers have opened an initial investigation into the Argentine Football Association’s financial operations in the United States.
They are looking into whether transactions related to the body could be considered money laundering or fraud under American law.
According to Argentine newspaper La Nacion, US Department of Justice investigators have begun taking testimony from persons who are aware of the AFA’s financial activities in the United States as the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfolds.
According to the report, investigators are looking into how the football body, run by Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, channeled hundreds of millions of dollars via the US financial system, and whether any of those transactions broke US law.
One of the supposed witnesses is businessman Guillermo Tofoni, who allegedly took part in a three-hour virtual interview last week with federal prosecutors and FBI agents in Washington, D.C. and Miami.
“When contacted by LA NACION , Tofoni declined to confirm or deny the private meeting held in Miami,” the newspaper said, adding that according to information it obtained, “US investigators are seeking witnesses with direct knowledge of what occurred during Tapia and Pablo Toviggino ‘s tenure at the helm of the AFA and TourProdEnter LLC , the company owned by theater producer Javier Faroni that managed the collection of payments for the organization’s commercial contracts abroad.”
The report also disclosed that US authorities are also considering interviewing former officials in the Argentine government who may have had oversight or knowledge of the AFA’s operations.
According to La Nacion, the preliminary investigation began in 2025 and is led by federal prosecutors Patrick Gushue and Christopher Ting in Washington, D.C., and Michael Berger in the Southern District of Florida.
“TourProdEnter LLC managed at least US$260 million in revenue from the AFA, although—according to bank records analyzed by LA NACION —only a portion of these funds can be directly linked to identifiable operating expenses of the organization headed by Tapia.
“Another US$57 million was distributed among various companies and beneficiaries whose economic justification is not apparent from the documentation reviewed by this newspaper.”
The investigation also claimed that payments were made to companies connected to Toviggino and his family.
La Nacion said that the US Department of Justice did not answer to its request for comment on the investigation’s status prior to publication.
It stated that AFA had recently emphasized the importance of the presumption of innocence.
