The Southern District Court of Florida has opened a preliminary investigation into TourProdEnter LLC, a company based in that state that allegedly acted as the exclusive commercial agent of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) outside the country, in a case involving the president of the organization, Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia, and the treasurer Pablo Toviggino, reported the agency EFE on Wednesday.
The investigation came to light as the Argentine team was returning from New York after losing 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup final against Spain, which took place last Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
After the existence of the investigation became known, the Argentine newspapers Infobae and Clarín reported that FBI agents allegedly seized phones and other electronic devices from several AFA executives before the team embarked on their flight back to Buenos Aires, and that some officials had been summoned to testify before U.S. authorities on July 30.
AFA rejected that information through a statement issued by their lawyer, Gregorio Dalbón.
"It is absolutely false to assert that Claudio Tapia or Pablo Toviggino have been summoned to testify by the U.S. Justice system, as it is also false to claim that their cell phones or any other electronic devices have been seized," the organization stated.
According to the association, the order issued by the U.S. court is directed at a third party and not at its top leaders.
"The summons issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is directed to a third party, who is required to appear before a Grand Jury and to eventually provide documentation and communications related to various individuals, including authorities of this Association," she added.
The focus of the research
Although the AFA denied the rumors about its executives, the existence of a judicial investigation in the United States had already been revealed weeks earlier by the Miami Herald.
According to that publication, around 40 million dollars from AFA revenue would have passed through TourProdEnter LLC before being transferred to other companies without any apparent commercial justification.
The investigation examines financial operations conducted between late 2022 and August 2025, seeking to determine whether they could constitute crimes such as money laundering or bank fraud.
According to the published information, investigators are also tracking the destination of some of those funds, which are believed to have been used to acquire high-value goods and hire services, including private flights, yachts, and companies related to motorsports and thoroughbred breeding.
TourProdEnter LLC was incorporated in Florida in August 2021 and, according to journalistic investigations, charged a 30% commission on AFA's international revenue, as well as an additional 10% for logistical services.
The case in the United States coincides with an investigation opened in Argentina.
On June 26th, the National Chamber of Economic Criminal Law confirmed the indictment of Tapia, Toviggino, and the AFA itself as a legal entity for alleged irregularities related to the retention of social security contributions and tax obligations, in a case that includes an attachment for 350 million pesos.
Argentine justice is also examining whether the funds managed by TourProdEnter are related to the purchase of a property in Pilar valued at around 17 million dollars, which is formally owned by third parties.
Meanwhile, the AFA insisted that it will legally defend the institution and its leaders.
"The Argentine Football Association reserves the right to take all legal action that may be appropriate in response to the dissemination of false or clearly misleading information that harms the rights of the institution or its authorities," the statement concluded.
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