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retired argentine football star Carlos Tevez In March 2024, a tweet suggesting suspicious activity in a suburb of Buenos Aires sparked controversy.
Tevez claimed that the Argentinian Football Association’s treasurer frequently visited Pilar, suggesting the official had buried bags of money there and had a collection of antique cars.
The progressive political party Coalicion Civica opened an investigation after Tevez’s posts and filed a criminal complaint against a mysterious villa in the city of Pilar.
As the World Cup approaches, allegations that the villa may be used for money laundering have become one of a series of scandals plaguing current World Cup champions Argentina’s football association.
Early December, Police raid AFA headquarters and more than a dozen football clubs as part of a money laundering probe into money transfers linked to the clubs and a financial services company.
Three days later, authorities raided Villa Pilar and discovered a heliport, horse stables and 54 cars, including luxury cars and collector cars. Coalicion Civica alleged in the criminal complaint that the property was a front for a money laundering scheme linked to AFA President Chiqui Tapia and its treasurer Pablo Toviggino.
In a separate case last week, prosecutors accused Tapia, Tovegino and other AFA leaders of illegally withholding taxes totaling $13 million, news outlet La Nacion reported, following a complaint from Argentina’s tax agency.
The AFA did not respond to Reuters requests for interviews with Tapia and Tovegino and for comment on the various judicial investigations that have been launched.
The association said in a public statement that it was under attack from the government of President Javier Milais, referring to how Milais pushed for Argentina’s football clubs to transform themselves into for-profit companies under the management of private owners, having long been non-profit entities run by their members.
“We are on the right path,” the Argentine Football Federation said, listing the competitions Argentina has won since Tapia became president in 2017, including the 2022 World Cup.
Representatives for Tevez did not respond to requests for an interview. Tovigino did not respond to a request for comment.
Despite success, there are still crises
Although Argentina has been praised for its performances on the pitch, the Argentine Football Association is going through its biggest crisis in years.
“There are two AFAs,” Argentinian sports journalist Nestor Centra said of Argentina’s international success and domestic instability.
A few months after Tevez’s tweet, Matias Yofe, president of the Coalicion Civica branch in Pilar, told Reuters that he and colleagues had spoken with about 10 employees who had worked at the Pilar hotel and speculated that Tovegino or Tapia was the owner.
Yoff said one person described Tapia once arriving by helicopter and giving employees football jerseys.
“What they describe is that they moved into the pool as owners of the place and used the facilities,” Yoff said. “Everyone said it belonged to someone from the AFA.”
Coalicion Civica’s complaint states that the property was purchased in 2024 by a company owned by mother and son Ana Lucia Conte and Luciano Nicolas Pantano, who allegedly could not afford the purchase. An attorney for Pantano did not respond to a request for comment.
Records reviewed by Reuters show the several-block property was purchased for $1.8 million, although experts suspect it is worth much more. The complaint points to Pantano’s ties to the soccer community, such as serving as head of Argentina’s futsal and beach soccer civil associations.
During the raid, officers found a black imitation leather bag emblazoned with the AFA logo and Tovegino’s name, several books about football and a plaque commemorating Tovegino, according to court documents. The 54 vehicles, including a Ferrari and several Porsches, were registered to Pantano and Conte’s companies.
An official with knowledge of the case said Tovegino’s relatives had the authority to drive at least several vehicles, confirming a report by local television station TN. Authorities have requested information about pilots using the heliport in the hope of finding out what happened to passengers.
The Justice Department is demanding that the Confederation of African Football and the Super League, an association responsible for broadcasting rights to matches, explain nearly $500 million in accounting entries dating back to 2017. Daniel Vitolo, director of the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, told Reuters that the amounts were included in balance reports under a category with a generic designation such as “other.” The Super League declined Reuters’ request for comment.
“If the AFA’s documentation is really in order, why doesn’t it explain something that’s easy to explain?” he said.
“These things happen”
Experts say the judicial case is unlikely to affect Argentina’s participation in the World Cup.
“Nobody can afford the political cost of doing this,” said Alan Wilder, a sports law attorney in Buenos Aires. “No one will agree to take (Lionel) Messi out of a World Cup, which could be his last. He is a sacred cow.”
The world of football is no stranger to financial scandals, with senior FIFA officials accused of corruption in recent years. Tapia’s predecessor resigned amid an investigation into irregularities involving the management of match broadcast funds. Those involved were acquitted this month.
Even before this scandal, the AFA had been criticized by fans for favoritism. When the AFA recently awarded a new, controversial trophy to Rosario Central, the parent club of national star player Angel Di Maria, many were outraged.
“I think things have been revealed,” said Enzo Gutierrez, a 30-year-old Buenos Aires resident who came from his native San Juan province to cheer on San Martín. “It caught my attention, but if you are a football fan you know these things happen in Argentine football.”