Federal prosecutor Cecilia Incardona has advanced a complaint against Ariel Vallejo, owner of Sur Finanzas and close to AFA president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, for an alleged money laundering scheme involving $818 billion. The probe centers on transfers to seven football clubs using low-income taxpayers. Sur Finanzas dismissed the charges as baseless and offered to cooperate with authorities.
Federal prosecutor Cecilia Incardona has formalized the complaint filed by the General Tax Directorate (DGI) against Ariel Vallejo, a financier with strong ties to Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The case, assigned to Federal Judge Federico Villena's court, accuses the Sur Finanzas PSP platform of orchestrating a money laundering scheme worth $818 billion pesos, using a network of low-income taxpayers, fake invoices, and uncategorized individuals to conceal the illicit origin of funds.
Among the recipients of the transfers are civil associations and trusts linked to football clubs such as San Lorenzo, Racing, Temperley, Los Andes, Excursionistas, Deportivo Morón, Defensores de Glew, and the Banfileña Reconstruction Trust. The DGI noted that audits could not obtain data on transfer amounts for five of these entities. Additionally, it alleges tax evasion of $3.3 billion in the Credits and Debits Tax by failing to act as withholding agents through third-party accounts.
The prosecutor requested evidentiary measures including lifting banking secrecy, freezing accounts, and a preventive embargo of up to $4 billion on Sur Finanzas assets. The Banfield trust is under scrutiny, with directors like Eduardo Juan Spinosa already probed in a related laundering case in Lomas de Zamora.
In response, Sur Finanzas issued a statement on social media denying the charges. “The accusations are unfounded,” they stated, emphasizing regulatory compliance, Central Bank authorizations, and no involvement in cryptocurrency operations. “We are at the disposal to collaborate with the Justice to clarify and satisfy all its requirements,” they concluded, noting their advertising on major club jerseys.
