The businessman and financier Ariel Vallejo, head of the holding Sur Finanzas, was dismissed by the Federal Court of Mar del Plata in a case where he was being investigated for alleged tax crimes.
The decision came after the case file remained inactive for more than nine years, leading to the statute of limitations on the criminal action, generating a strong controversy.
The resolution was signed this Tuesday by the substitute federal judge Santiago Inchausti, in charge of Federal Court No. 1 of Mar del Plata, who ruled the lack of action following a motion from the defense that also had a favorable opinion from the prosecutor Santiago Eyherabide.
Ariel Vallejo.
The case for which Ariel Vallejo was dismissed
In the case file, Vallejo was investigated for having played a role as a “accountant or advisor” for two individuals between late 2015 and during 2016.
According to the accusation, he allegedly used personal data and tax keys to manage registrations and modifications, supposedly from his role in a currency exchange, with the aim of “concealing the true tax situation of the obligated parties.”
This type of maneuver, related to the alteration of documentary or electronic supports of the tax authority, carries penalties ranging from two to six years in prison. However, judicial progress was limited by the passage of time without relevant procedural acts.
To determine the statute of limitations, the Justice took December 31, 2016, as the reference date when the investigated conduct would have ceased.
Ariel Vallejo and Chiqui Tapia.
Vallejo was summoned for questioning only on October 15, 2025, which proved decisive for the outcome of the case. In this regard, the judge stated that “it is evident that the six-year period provided for under the maximum of the applicable criminal scale elapsed without any valid interruptive act.”
Despite this judicial closure in Mar del Plata, the financier remains involved in other broader investigations taking place in the federal courts of Comodoro Py and Lomas de Zamora, where his financial activities and his links to the world of football are being analyzed.
In this context, federal prosecutor Cecilia Incardona recently requested Judge Luis Armella to expand the charges against Vallejo for the alleged crime of fraudulent administration as a necessary participant. This accusation would be added to those of money laundering and organized crime already facing the businessman.
Ariel Vallejo.
The origin of the case
The case in Lomas de Zamora originated from a complaint filed by the company Auriga League S.A., which granted a loan of two million euros to Club Atlético Banfield, which, according to the complaint, was never repaid. From that initial fact, the investigation advanced towards a presumed broader scheme.
According to the accusation, this network allegedly operated continuously between September 2020 and December 2025, with the holding Sur Finanzas as the central axis.
The prosecutor's hypothesis holds that the firm would have developed a structure aimed at raising funds from football clubs with liquidity problems, granting them loans under conditions considered usurious and subsequently channeling the profits through a network of companies.
Among the detected maneuvers are the discounting of checks with abusive rates, the signing of loan contracts with interest that the prosecution qualifies as usurious, the imposition of proprietary payment systems, and the celebration of simulated sponsorship contracts, without real consideration, used to justify money transfers and give them a legal appearance.
This investigation also mentions the president of the Argentine Football Association, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, identified as the link that allowed Vallejo's entry into the professional football circuit.
According to the case file, it was Tapia who facilitated his arrival at the clubs, positioning him as a financing provider for entities with economic difficulties.
