The national senator Patricia Bullrich warned this Monday through a post on the social network X that officially denounced the president of the Argentine Football Federation. Claudio Tapiaand to the Treasurer of the Mother House of Argentine Football, Pablo Tovigginobefore the Conmebol Ethics Commission. And the question now is what course the South American company will take in response to this demand, given its constant fight against corruption.
“You must thoroughly investigate this mafia that runs the AFA and is polluting Argentine football.”noted the former security minister in the government of Javier Milei in her publication.
Bullrich, who warned that he would take full force against Tapia and Toviggino, who are currently at the center of the justice agendaThe endless implications of the case that investigates the Sur Finanzas companywho is closely linked to the head of the AFA, the treasurer and several clubs over alleged money laundering.
In her complaint, the senator therefore accuses Tapia and Toviggino of “alleged violations of the Conmebol Code of Ethics and the Conmebol Anti-Corruption, Anti-Bribery and Compliance Policy”, in particular with regard to the principles of integrity, fiduciary duty, conflict of interest, transparency in the conclusion of contracts, the appropriate use of resources and the prevention of money laundering within the member associations.
Conmebol has fought hard against corruption cases. In fact, the body chaired by Alejandro Domínguez reaffirmed this last month will use all legal means to recoup money from South American football that was siphoned off during the former president’s time in office Nicolas LeozHe died in 2019 as part of the international FIFA Gate scandal.
This situation arose after the Paraguayan public prosecutor’s office indicted nine people for alleged money launderingincluding six directors of Banco Atlas – including its president Miguel Zaldívar – as well as Leoz’s ex-wife María Clemencia Pérez and two daughters of the former boss.
According to Conmebol’s legal representative, Claudio Lovera, between 2000 and 2010, Leoz carried out operations that affected Conmebol’s assets, generating profits that were channeled through Banco Atlas through trust agreements and certificates of deposit.
From Banco Atlas they responded to the allegations. “All transactions related to Mr. Nicolás Leoz that took place at Banco Atlas were legal, traceable and fully secured. The funds in question – approximately six million dollars at the time of the start of the international investigation – came from properly documented personal and family activities unrelated to Conmebol. In this context, it is worth noting that Banco Atlas was the first bank in the Paraguayan financial system to preemptively report these accounts to the Secretariat for the Prevention of Money Laundering (SEPRELAD) reported May 29, 2015, one day after the international investigation became known.”they said in a statement released to the press.
Two days earlier, on May 27 of the same year, the FIFA Gate exploded in Switzerland, one of the biggest corruption scandals in football history, uncovered after an investigation by the US Department of Justice. The case uncovered an extensive network of bribery, fraud and money laundering involving senior officials of the International Football Association (FIFA), continental associations and companies linked to the sport. The investigation, which took place over a long period of time, involved 45 defendants, most of whom were incarcerated.
at the hotel Baur au Lac In Zurich, several arrests occurred on the morning of May 27, 2015, outside the congress that would later host Joseph Blatter’s re-election on May 29, although he would resign four days later.
The case involved some South American soccer leaders who were extradited to the United States for imprisonment. After Domínguez’s inauguration Conmebol worked to “recover the money from corruption.”“Indeed, recently, according to his principle “Clear rules”The organization recalled that it was the only one in world football to sponsor a forensic audit of corruption offenses, which allowed it to recover more than $130 million.
In addition to being president of the AFA, Tapia is currently second vice-president of Conmebol and holds the position of representative of the confederation before FIFA. Based on Bullrich’s complaint, what position will the South American company take against Chiqui? The ethics committee, which is intended to work autonomously, consists of five members. They are the Argentinian Juan Bautista Mahiques, the Paraguayan Rudolf Fischer Schenk, the Venezuelan Juan Andrés Osorio, the Peruvian Natale Amprimo Plá and the Brazilian Joao Rafael de Sousa Caetano Soares.
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