Argentine soccer body in turmoil ahead of World Cup over mystery villa and dirty money claims

By Leila Miller

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 1 (Reuters) – In March 2024, retired Argentine soccer star Carlos Tevez published a tweet hinting at something suspicious going on in a Buenos Aires suburb. The treasurer of the Argentine Football Association, Tevez claimed, was making many trips to Pilar, where he implied the soccer official had buried bags of money and kept a collection of antique cars.

Coalicion Civica, a progressive political party, began investigating after Tevez’s post and filed a criminal complaint centered on a mystery villa in Pilar.    

As the World Cup approaches, allegations that the villa may have been used for money-laundering have become one of a series of scandals gripping the soccer association that is in charge of the game in Argentina, the current world champions.

In early December, police raided the AFA headquarters and more than a dozen soccer clubs as part of a money-laundering probe that looked at transfers of money tied to clubs and a financial services company.

Three days later, authorities raided the Pilar villa, finding a heliport, stables and 54 vehicles, including luxury cars and collectible cars. In its criminal complaint, Coalicion Civica alleges the property is a front for a money-laundering scheme connected to Chiqui Tapia, the president of the AFA, and its treasurer, Pablo Toviggino.

Last week, in another case, a prosecutor charged Tapia, Toviggino and other AFA leaders for unlawful retention of taxes totaling $13 million following a complaint from Argentina’s tax agency, according to news outlet La Nacion.

The AFA did not respond to an inquiry from Reuters requesting an interview with both Tapia and Toviggino and for comment on the various judicial investigations that have been opened.

In a public statement, the association has said it is being attacked by the government of President Javier Milei, referring to how Milei has pushed for Argentina’s soccer clubs, which have long functioned as nonprofit entities run by their members, to become for-profit companies under private owners.

“We are on the right path,” the AFA said, listing competitions Argentina has won since Tapia became president in 2017, including the World Cup itself in 2022.

A representative for Tevez did not respond to an interview request. Toviggino did not respond to a request for comment.   

CRISIS DESPITE SUCCESS

Despite plaudits for Argentina’s performance on the field, the AFA is going through its biggest crisis in years.

“There are two AFAs,” said Nestor Centra, an Argentine sports journalist, referring to its international success and the instability at home.

Several months after Tevez’s tweet, Matias Yofe, president of Coalicion Civica’s branch in Pilar, told Reuters that he and his colleagues talked to about 10 employees who had worked at the Pilar property and presumed that Toviggino or Tapia were the owners.

One person, Yofe said, described Tapia once arriving by helicopter and then gifting employees soccer jerseys.

“What they described was they moved as owners of the place, they got in the pool, used the facilities,” Yofe said. “Everyone indicated that this belongs to people of the AFA.”

Coalicion Civica’s complaint alleged that the property had been purchased in 2024 by a company owned by Ana Lucia Conte and Luciano Nicolas Pantano, a mother and son that it claimed could not afford the purchase. An attorney who has represented Pantano did not respond to a request for comment.     

Records viewed by Reuters indicate that the property, several city blocks long, was bought for $1.8 million, although experts suspect it’s worth much more. The complaint points to Pantano’s connections with the soccer world, such as serving as the head of the Argentine Civil Association of Futsal and Beach Soccer.

According to court documents, officials during the raid found a black imitation leather bag branded with the AFA logo and Toviggino’s name, several books on soccer and a plaque honoring Toviggino. The 54 vehicles included a Ferrari and several Porsches, registered under the company the complaint attributed to Pantano and Conte.

An official with knowledge of the case said that Toviggino’s relatives had authorization to drive at least several of the cars, confirming a report by local television station TN. Authorities have requested information on the pilots who used the heliport in the hopes of learning about the passengers.

The justice ministry has demanded that the AFA and the Superliga, an association that handles transmission rights of matches, give explanations for accounting entries of nearly half a billion dollars going back to 2017. Daniel Vitolo, the head of the ministry’s Inspector General’s office, told Reuters that those amounts fall into categories on balance reports with generic names such as “others.” The Superliga declined a request from Reuters for comment.

“If the AFA really has its papers in order, why doesn’t it explain something that’s very easy to explain?” he said.

‘THESE THINGS HAPPEN’

Experts said it’s unlikely that the judicial cases will affect Argentina’s participation in the World Cup.

“No one can pay the political cost of doing that,” said Alan Wilder, a sports law attorney in Buenos Aires. “No one would approve of the mere idea of taking (Lionel) Messi out of the World Cup, with this possibly being his last World Cup. He’s the sacred cow.”

Soccer worldwide is no stranger to financial scandals, and in recent years top FIFA officials have been charged with corruption. Tapia’s predecessor resigned amid an investigation into irregularities involving management of match broadcasting funds. Those charged in the case were absolved this month.

Prior to the current scandals, AFA had already faced criticism by fans for favoritism. Many were angered when the AFA recently awarded Rosario Central, home team of national star player Angel Di Maria, a new and controversial trophy.

“I think the lid has been blown off the pot,” said Enzo Gutierrez, 30, a Buenos Aires resident who roots for the team San Martin from his native province of San Juan. “It has grabbed my attention a lot but if you’re a soccer fan you live knowing that these things happen in Argentine soccer.”

(Reporting by Leila Miller; additional reporting by Ramiro Scandolo; Editing by Alistair Bell)