The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic opened an administrative proceeding against the Argentine Football Association (AFA), its president Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia and other executives of the organization for alleged violations of the Criminal Foreign Exchange Law.
The case file was signed last Tuesday, although it has not yet been formally notified to AFA. The investigation covers transactions carried out between 2020 and 2023 and includes a total volume of funds under analysis that exceeds USD 131,384,000 and EUR 94,999,920, which represents an overall amount greater than USD 242 million.
According to sources with direct knowledge of the case, the proceeding focuses on the irregular inflow and/or settlement of foreign currency from various funding sources of the organization.
These include sponsorship contracts, television rights and international transfers made by sports bodies such as FIFA and Conmebol. The central axis of the scheme observed by the investigators is linked to the change in the declared purpose for those inflows in the foreign exchange system.
According to the investigation, AFA allegedly changed the code under which it recorded the funds received, shifting from "other personal, cultural and recreational services" (code S24) to "other current transfers" (code 108).
This change allowed the dollars received not to be mandatorily settled in the Single Free Foreign Exchange Market (MULC), since by being declared as transfers or donations they were not covered by the regulations that require conversion at the official exchange rate.
This mechanism appears reflected in the inflows from the sponsorship contract with Adidas and in television agreements with companies such as Fox and Argentina Football Distribution LLC.
