FBI Investigates Argentine Football Federation for Suspected Money Laundering

The FBI has opened an investigation into the Argentine Football Association (AFA), according to Argentine newspaper La Nacion, citing two separate sources. Federal prosecutors and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation have begun collecting testimony on the financial operations of the federation headed by Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, as Argentina prepares to host the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

According to La Nacion, investigators from the Department of Justice are seeking to establish how the AFA operated on American territory, how it channeled hundreds of millions of dollars through its financial system, and whether any of these transactions constitute offenses under American jurisdiction. The suspected violations include money laundering and bank fraud, two offenses heavily penalized in the United States.

The Argentine newspaper claims to have identified, through its own investigations, suspicious fund movements in the United States. Among the transfers observed are transfers of several tens of millions of dollars to companies with no identifiable counterpart, controlled by individuals who, according to official records, were receiving social assistance and residing in Bariloche or Buenos Aires.

The AFA, implicated at this stage of the investigation, is demanding respect for the presumption of innocence. Tomas Regalado, a Florida politician close to the federation, stated that “investigative measures alone are not sufficient to establish responsibility or guilt”.

The scandal breaks in a delicate sporting context: the Albiceleste, defending world champions, have just qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup by overcoming Egypt (3-2) before eliminating Switzerland. The national team remains in contention for a fourth star, but the institution that oversees it now finds itself at the heart of a financial scandal with international implications.