Judge Lijo Orders Inquiry Into FIFA Transfers to Claudio Tapia

Federal Judge Orders International Inquiry into FIFA Transfers and Assets of AFA President Claudio Tapia

Federal judge Ariel Lijo has ordered an international judicial request to Switzerland to investigate nearly $190,000 in transfers from FIFA to Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Signed on a Friday following a request from prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita, the ruling forms part of an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged illicit enrichment involving Tapia’s public-sector role at the CEAMSE, rather than his executive position within Argentine football’s governing body.

The financial inquiry focuses on three specific incoming wire transfers sent from Zurich by the international governing body between December 2018 and March 2020. According to court filings, the payments total $189,578 and comprise $49,585 credited in December 2018, $124,583 credited in June 2019, and $15,408 processed in March 2020. The first two amounts landed in a dollar-denominated savings account at Banco Credicoop, while the final sum was liquidated in pesos into a separate account at the same institution. Prosecutors noted in the case file that these funds were absent from the asset declarations submitted by Tapia.

Beyond the Swiss inquiry, the court directive requires FIFA to supply a complete registry of all fees, honoraria, per diems, and travel allowances paid to Tapia since 2016, alongside the specific commissions or administrative justifications attached to each transaction. Concurrently, the magistrate demanded that the AFA produce internal resolutions, board minutes, and usage policies authorizing corporate credit cards—including Visa, Cabal, and American Express Corporate accounts—issued under the association president’s name. The association must also account for five separate transfers directed to Tapia’s accounts between 2020 and 2023, for a total of $1,476,000, alongside the documentation supporting 30 million pesos in travel expenses declared by the executive.

Banking Records, Union Accounts, and the Lifting of Financial Secrecy

The judicial package extends deep into domestic banking and labor records to reconstruct Tapia’s financial profile. Investigators targeted 37 separate deposits totaling $1,494,678.79 made by the Sindicato de Choferes de Camiones into a salary account held by Tapia between January 2016 and January 2019. Union sources confirmed to La Nación that Tapia holds membership number 87,304 and has remained on the union payroll despite not performing active duties there for years. The union was ordered to submit his official employment file, position history, and wage receipts.

In a parallel move affecting immediate family assets, Judge Lijo lifted the fiscal, banking, and stock market secrecy protections surrounding Paola Moyano, Tapia’s ex-wife and daughter of Hugo Moyano. The decision stemmed from financial tracing that uncovered a cash deposit of $620,000 in a shared account on the same day Moyano was added as an authorized signatory. The state tax authority, ARCA, received instructions to conduct a comprehensive audit of Moyano’s domestic and international holdings, sworn tax statements, corporate stakes, and digital wallet activity.

Automotive Registries, Crypto Platforms, and Multiple Judicial Files

The wide-ranging evidentiary sweep encompasses dozens of financial institutions, registries, and digital payment networks. The court instructed the national automotive registry to forward the vehicle histories of four automobiles registered to Tapia or driven under his authorization since 2016, notably a BMW X4 purchased in June 2020. Investigators also renewed outstanding demands for data from 16 cryptocurrency platforms—including Binance, OKX, and Ualá—as well as currency exchange houses such as Banco Piano and Western Union. The inquiry was initiated by prosecutor Pollicita following a complaint by Guillermo Tofoni, and reached Lijo after the Cámara Federal porteña resolved a conflict of competence.

Judge Lijo Orders Inquiry Into FIFA Transfers to Claudio Tapia — Photo: infobae.com

The procedural timeline advanced as Tapia traveled to Zurich to attend an official FIFA Council meeting under judicial authorization granted in a separate penal proceeding involving tax-withholding allegations.