Argentine Football Chief Responds to FBI Raid and Fraud Allegations

Infobae newspaper, citing a document from U.S. authorities, also reported that FBI agents detained association president Claudio Tapia at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and seized electronic devices from him and other members of the AFA delegation. AFA communications chief Nicolás Novello, in response to a DPA inquiry, dismissed these reports late Wednesday as a “huge lie.” The FBI stated it could not comment on the matter.

The AFA simultaneously declared that the document referenced by Infobae was not addressed to the association's leadership. According to Argentine media reports, U.S. authorities are investigating the association's financial operations in the United States. Investigators are reportedly examining, among other things, how hundreds of millions of dollars were transferred through the U.S. financial system and whether U.S. laws were violated in the process.

In Argentina, investigators are probing suspicions that the association belatedly paid taxes and social security contributions. Tapia, who has led the AFA since 2017, appeared in court in March in connection with this case. On Wednesday, he wrote on Instagram: “Don't be fooled. Neither by lies nor by maneuvers whose sole purpose is to cause unrest.”