MIAMI — What began as a preliminary financial inquiry into Argentina’s fútbol federation has grown, over the course of 2026, into a full grand jury investigation reaching into South Florida’s banking system — implicating the men who run one of the most successful national teams in the world, in a case that intensified even as Argentina competed for the World Cup title on American soil.
How the Investigation Started
The FBI’s inquiry into the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) began around November 2025, according to Argentine newspaper La Nación, focused on determining how AFA president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia’s administration managed hundreds of millions of dollars flowing through the U.S. financial system.
Federal prosecutors and FBI agents based in Washington and Miami — later reported to include Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Gushue and Christopher Ting, and federal prosecutor Michael Berger — began examining whether AFA’s financial operations could constitute crimes under U.S. federal jurisdiction, including money laundering or bank fraud.
Argentina’s own Financial Information Unit (UIF) had separately been pursuing a parallel domestic thread: in January, UIF director Paul Starc traveled to Washington to meet with counterparts at FinCEN, the U.S. Treasury’s financial crimes network, to exchange documentation related to AFA — part of an Argentine investigation into the alleged diversion of at least $42 million from AFA’s foreign-held accounts into shell companies.
The Company at the Center: TourProdEnter LLC
Much of the U.S. investigation centers on TourProdEnter LLC, a company owned by theatrical producer Javier Faroni that managed the collection of AFA’s international commercial contracts — including friendly matches, sponsorships, and broadcast rights.
According to bank records reviewed by La Nación, TourProdEnter LLC administered at least $260 million in AFA revenue through accounts held at major U.S. financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citibank, and JPMorgan Chase.
The company reportedly retained 30% of AFA’s international income after taxes, plus a 10% commission on certain logistical expenses — arrangements now under scrutiny for whether they were legitimate business costs or a mechanism to divert funds.
Investigators have also identified a separate figure of concern: a Miami Herald investigation reported that AFA revenue was allegedly channeled through shell companies in South Florida, with bank records showing a $40,000 transfer to María Florencia Sartirana, the partner of AFA treasurer Pablo Toviggino.
Federal Grand Jury
The investigation escalated meaningfully in late July, when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued subpoenas compelling associates of Tapia to testify before a grand jury on July 30 and produce all available documentation and communications related to TourProdEnter — including communications involving Tapia himself, Toviggino, and associates Diego Lucero and Javier Faroni.
AFA’s legal representative, attorney Gregorio Dalbón, publicly denied more dramatic reports that Tapia and Toviggino had personally been detained and had their phones seized by FBI agents at New York’s JFK Airport, calling the claims “absolutely false” and clarifying that the subpoena was directed at a third party, not AFA’s leadership directly.
Businessman Guillermo Tofoni, described in reporting as the source who first exposed the alleged scheme dubbed “AFAGate,” gave testimony to federal investigators during a roughly three-hour videoconference with Washington- and Miami-based prosecutors and agents, and has separately claimed that of the more than 400 million pesos in question, “not one dollar” entered Argentina.
A Parallel Domestic Case in Argentina
The FBI investigation runs alongside an active Argentine judicial process. On June 26, an Argentine appeals court confirmed formal charges against AFA as an institution, along with Tapia and Toviggino personally, in a separate case alleging the improper withholding of more than 19 billion pesos (roughly $13 million) in social security contributions and withholdings — charges originally filed March 30 following a complaint from Argentina's tax authority.
Tapia required special judicial authorization to travel to the United States for the World Cup given an existing exit ban tied to that case, which Argentine courts have since upheld on appeal for both him and Toviggino.
Separately, Argentine courts are also examining the financing behind a lavish mansion in Pilar, outside Buenos Aires, linked to Toviggino — a case prosecutors are investigating for possible connections to the broader AFA financial scheme, even as the case has been slowed by disputes over which court should handle it.
What’s New In The Case
The most recent developments show the U.S. side of the investigation actively widening rather than narrowing. Federal prosecutors are reportedly considering summoning former officials from President Javier Milei’s government who had access to sensitive information about AFA’s operations or who supervised the federation during recent years — a potential expansion into Argentina’s own regulatory apparatus, not just AFA’s leadership.
AFA has continued denying that Tapia or Toviggino have been personally subpoenaed or face any procedural action in the U.S. case, maintaining that the July 30 grand jury summons was directed solely at a third party.
The federation’s representatives have also appeared publicly at a forum in Miami, where they defended the presumption of innocence and argued that investigative measures do not themselves imply guilt.
The case lands at a uniquely public moment for Argentine fútbol, with the federation’s leadership having spent the tournament fielding both sporting scrutiny and a mounting financial corruption investigation simultaneously.
With a federal grand jury now actively gathering testimony and documents, and Argentine prosecutors weighing whether to expand their own case to include former government regulators, the investigation's next material step — an indictment, additional subpoenas, or a quiet resolution — remains the open question hanging over AFA’s leadership as both the American and Argentine legal processes continue in parallel.
