The prosecutor appealed the prosecution and seeks to include advertising revenue in the indictment. The House must define whether to expand the charges and lift embargoes
The judicial situation of the leaders of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) is increasingly complicated. This Thursday, the economic criminal prosecutor, Claudio Navas Rial, requested to aggravate the prosecution of the entity's corrupt president, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, of the treasurerPablo Toviggino and other leaders in the case that investigates the alleged misappropriation of taxes and contributions of
more than 19 billion pesos.
The presentation points against the decision of Judge Diego Amarante, who had handed down the indictments but excluded a key component from the accusation: withholding linked to income from official sponsorship of Argentine football tournaments. For the prosecutor, that decision entailed an undue reduction in the scope of the case
. The case against Tapia and Toviggino could be aggravated In his appeal, Navas Rial argued that there was a “fragmented analysis of the maneuver under investigation” and emphasized that this subconcept (number 551 of tax 353) is not accessory, but a “inseparable part” of the scheme under investigation.
As he explained, this is a rate of 7.5% applied to advertising revenues that must be used for social security contributions
.
“The grievance is then not directed to the existence of the prosecution but to itsundue restriction due to the fragmentary analysis of the maneuver, since, due to the very nature of the figure, it requires a comprehensive assessment,” said the prosecutor.
The case focuses on alleged withholding and perceptions that would not have been deposited in the social security system. In this scheme, the AFA and the Professional League acted as withholding agents corresponding to clubs, soccer players
and staff. The AFA and the Professional League would have withheld more than 19 billion pesos in social security and tax contributions
Judge Amarante had excluded advertising money, considering that it was not proven that the AFA acted as a withholding agent in that area and that, in addition, the corresponding certificates had been issued. However, for the Office of the Prosecutor, this criterion artificially reduces the scope of the investigation
.
“This way of resolving matters an early closure of the process,” warned Navas Rial, who also noted that the exclusion of this item directly impacts the amounts of the embargoes, set at350 million pesos for Tapia and Toviggino, and 150 million for Director General Gustavo Lorenzo, Secretary General Cristian Malaespina and former Secretary General Víctor Blanco, which should be higher if that concept is incorporated.
The definition will now be in the hands of the Economic Criminal Chamber, composed of judges Roberto Hornos and Carolina Robiglio, which must analyze both the prosecutor's appeal and those submitted by the defendants' defenses, who asked for the revocation of the proceedings. The ruling adopted by the court will be decisive: if the proceedings are confirmed, the case will be able to move forward to the
