A sponsorship company, whose president is close to the current boss of the Argentine Football Federation, arouses the suspicions of investigators who have carried out numerous operations.
Several clubs as well as the headquarters of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) were searched this Tuesday, December 9 as part of a vast investigation into suspicions of money laundering, a police source announced to AFP.
“For the moment, between 25 and 30 searches have been carried out on football clubs and the homes of individuals,” said this police source, according to whom the AFA headquarters, near Buenos Aires, is also concerned.
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According to this same source, Argentine justice is investigating the accounting of the financial company “Sur Finanzas”, sponsor of several clubs in the country, as well as the Argentine selection in 2024, suspected of embezzlement.
Last month, this company, headed by businessman Luis Vallejo, close to AFA president Claudio Tapia, was the subject of a complaint from the General Directorate of Taxes on suspicion of tax evasion, for an amount of around half a billion euros.
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According to local media, justice is trying to determine whether the financial company operated with nominees and granted loans to certain clubs in exchange, for example, for broadcasting rights. One of the clubs raided, Excursionistas, published a statement on Tuesday in which it denied any “financial” and “administrative relationship” with Sur Finanzas.
“Atlético Excursionistas informs its members, supporters and public opinion that the only existing link with the said company has been a sponsorship agreement, in the usual terms under which the institution concludes commercial agreements, for the support of sporting and social activities”, affirms this Buenos Aires club playing in the 3rd division.
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Other first division teams were raided, such as Racing Club, Independiente, Banfield and San Lorenzo.
