This Tuesday, Justice carried out searches both at the headquarters of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) and in various local football clubs. The objective of the operations – in total, more than thirty – consisted of collecting accounting information linked to the … Cabinet Sur Finance, sponsor of numerous clubs, and suspected of having carried out fraudulent maneuvers. The financial company belongs to businessman Ariel Vallejo, close to AFA boss Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia.
Record command
The judicial decision to carry out police searches was announced at the start of the week. The operations – which lasted more than 12 hours – They were primarily focused on AFA-owned property in the town of Ezeiza in Buenos Aires, located in the south of Buenos Aires province. It should be noted that this is precisely where the Argentine national team conducts its training.
But this Tuesday too Searches were carried out at the headquarters of 17 local clubs. This is the case of the finalist of the Clausura Tournament, Racing Club; St. Lawrence; Independent; the winner of the Apertura First Division Tournament, Platense; and Banfield, among others. In total, in just a few hours, more than thirty operations were carried out simultaneously.
One of the clubs where the searches were carried out was that of the local Excursionistas who, a few hours after the police operations, came out to distance themselves from the accusations. He did this through an official press release, broadcast on his social networks. “The Excursionistas Athletic Club informs its members, supporters and the public that the only existing link with the said company is a sponsorship agreement, in the usual terms in which the institution celebrates commercial agreements to support sporting and social activities,” he defends.
About the survey
The case that is moving forward in court and scandalizing the world of Argentine sports began last November, when the General Tax Directorate filed a complaint against Sur Finanzas forto an alleged evasion of more than 800 billion pesos (about $550 million). Remember that in 2024 this same company was the official sponsor of the Professional League and the Argentine football team.
The searches carried out this Tuesday in the various sports sites, as reported by the local press, aim to determine whether the financial company was acting through various front men. They are also seeking to find out whether the company granted loans to football clubs in exchange for certain advantages, such as obtaining match broadcasting rights. Specifically, we are looking for digital and printed documentation related to the court file.
It is worth remembering that a few weeks ago, The Argentine government has openly opposed the Argentine Football Federation (AFA). This happened after this body sanctioned the Estudiantes de la Plata club after the “pass with the back” that the players made in protest against a recognition granted to Rosario Central.
Immediately afterwards, the same president, Javier Milei, sided with the “pincharrata” club and even placed a painting of Estudiantes in his office at the Casa Rosada. Then, former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich publicly accused AFA president Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia of having links to the mafia and warned that investigating the sports association is now one of the government’s main goals: “I will study the transparency of the AFA from the Senate.”
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