THE president of Argentina’s FA had his phone seized by FBI agents only moments before he was about to board a flight out of the US.
This follows explosive claims that hundreds of millions of dollars in sponsorship money were laundered through US banks.
Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia was apprehended as prepared to board a flight at JFK Credit: Getty
The FBI is investigating claims the Argentine FA laundered sponsorship money through US banks Credit: Getty
Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia was preparing to fly to Buenos Aires with several members of the World Cup squad when he was surrounded by US law enforcement.
Tapia was taken into custody at JFK International airport in New York and told to hand over all of his electronic devices.
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Sources say the authorities also seized phones and computers from other members of the Argentine delegation.
The flight – which had been scheduled to leave at 6.00am – eventually took off around 8.15am.
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Tapia was made to hand over his electronic devices for inspection Credit: AFP
Argentina lost in the World Cup Final to Spain Credit: Getty
This had the knock-on effect of delaying the team’s arrival at Ezeiza International Airport, where thousands of fans were waiting.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has since released a statement denying the covert operation took place.
“It is categorically false,” the statement said.
“None of the described incidents occurred.”
Prosecutors are examining whether cash linked to the AFA was moved through American banks in a way that could amount to money laundering and fraud.
Investigators are now trying to establish exactly where the money went, who received it and whether any US laws were broken along the way.
According to court documents, Tapia will now appear before the Southern District Court of Florida.
He has also been asked to provide all information he possesses related to Tourprodenter, including communications with Pablo Toviggino, Diego Lucero, and Javier Faroni.
Tourprodenter – managed by Faroni – is a Florida-based company that handled payments linked to some of Argentina football’s biggest commercial deals.
All of them are under investigation as part of a case focusing on the financial structure of the AFA’s international commercial contracts.
Bank records allegedly show that millions of dollars passed through several accounts across various US financial institutions.
The statements are said to show that some of the money remained in the accounts for a few days before being transferred elsewhere.
Private flights, transportation, fuel, consulting, multimillion-dollar transfers to companies with little to no known commercial activity have also reportedly been identified.
Lionel Messi was not part of the group who travelled with Tapia.
Instead, Messi travelled to Argentina a day later, before spending time at home with his family in Rosario.
An investigation is ongoing to determine whether any of the transactions constitute a crime under US law.
