As Argentina prepare to face Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinals, there’s quite an off-the-pitch distraction brewing due to the Argentine Football Association reportedly being under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for alleged money laundering and fraud in the United States.
What’s being looked at is Argentina’s activities in Miami and the at least $260 million that have gone through America’s financial system and what it has been used for, according to Argentine newspaper, La Nacion. There is also an additional $57 million in transfers, which didn’t have a clear purpose, according to the report, which adds that the FBI has questioned Guillermo Tofani, an Argentine sports businessman. La Nacion claims it was able to obtain banking documents showing that hundreds of millions of dollars were moved through Citibank, Synovus, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and PNC Bank, but that only a portion of those funds can actually be traced to operating expenses.
The goal is figuring out the relationship between the AFA and TourProdEnter LLC, a company which has handled Argentina’s overseas commercial agreements with sponsors. That company is owned by producer Javier Faroni and is under scrutiny by at least three federal prosecutors.
Previously, sponsor payments made to Argentina were made directly to the association and then funneled down through youth soccer clubs in the country, but after winning the 2022 World Cup, this shifted with the AFA entering an agreement with TourProdEnter, while their presence has continued to grow in Miami following Lionel Messi’s arrival in the United States. Argentina opened a South Florida office ahead of Copa America in 2023, and that was then followed by two training facilities, one of which is currently open and another that is in progress.
The investigation began in 2025 before expanding in 2026 following an alert from Argentina’s Ministry of Security. Currently, this investigation is in the preliminary stages, and no one has officially been charged with any wrongdoing. Also, no outcomes of this would have an impact on the current World Cup run for Argentina.
