The justice system took a new step in one of the most sensitive cases facing the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Economic Criminal Court Judge Diego Amarante decided to lift the tax and stock market secrecy of the president of the entity, Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia, within the framework of an investigation for alleged misappropriation of social security contributions.
The judicial decision is part of a broader offensive aimed at clarifying the management of public funds withheld by AFA and that, according to the accusation, allegedly were not paid into the social security system in a timely and proper manner. The lifting of secrecy will allow access to key information on the official's financial, asset, and stock market movements.
The measure covers the entire board of directors
The court ruling is not limited to AFA's president. It also covers his main collaborator, treasurer Pablo Toviggino, as well as other members of the board of directors: secretary general Cristian Ariel Malaspina and general director Gustavo Lorenzo.
In addition, Judge Amarante ordered the judicial recess to be lifted, a sign of the degree of urgency and importance that the justice system assigns to the investigation, in order to determine whether there was indeed a misappropriation of social security contributions for an estimated amount of $19,000 million, as ARCA claims.
The prosecutor's indictment and Tapia's role
Last week, Economic Criminal Prosecutor Claudio Navas Rial formally charged Tapia on the basis of a request stemming from a complaint filed by the tax collection agency. According to the accusation, AFA has a debt of more than $19,000 million corresponding to the last two years.
The indictment keeps that the entity allegedly withheld taxes and social security contributions from its own employees and from Argentine football clubs without paying them within the legal deadline established by the Criminal Tax Regime. In his opinion, the prosecutor attributed direct responsibility to Tapia for his institutional role and for his administration of the association's tax code.
