Ali Thameem
French investigative journalist Romain Molina has released a new investigation, connecting an alleged web of financial misconduct within the Argentine Football Association (AFA), while questioning FIFA’s oversight of the world champions’ finances.
Molina, who is an author and a columnist at the Guardian and The New York Times, focused this new investigation mostly on the commercial revenues generated from Argentina’s victorious 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign.
According to Molina, more than €42 million from the approximately €300 million received following Argentina’s World Cup triumph was diverted through shell companies.
The shell company at the centre of it is TourProdEnter LLC, incorporated in Miami just nine days before Argentina defeated France in the World Cup final. Molina says a contract signed just before the final entitled the company to 30 percent of the AFA’s World Cup revenues, before FIFA allegedly transferred the corresponding funds directly to TourProdEnter.
Molina questions why a company with no apparent football operations, received such payments. He argued that this apparent ponzi scheme should have to be reported more by the mainstream media.
His allegations were first reported by Argentine newspaper La Nación, which revealed certain details of the TourProdEnter case last week. The Miami Herald subsequently reported that the FBI and U.S. prosecutors are investigating sponsorship payments funneled through the company. Molina claims the money were actually laundered via multiple corporate banks into the hands of executives in Argentinian FA for their personal use.
Miami Herald did relatively similar reporting to Molina. It says that authorities are examining whether sponsorship payments routed through the Florida-based company were channelled via remittance businesses before reaching the AFA.
Molina further alleges that money flowing through the network of shell companies was later used to acquire Italian club Perugia. Referring to Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad, he remarked that “thanks to Messi, Paredes and the guys, they were able to buy a club in Italy”, contrasting the players’ achievements on the pitch with what he describes as the greed of football’s power brokers.
Molina argues that Argentina’s football leadership has been benefiting from political protection for years. He alleges that influential political figures and compromised judges in Buenes Aires have helped obstruct investigations involving the AFA.
Ultimately, however, Molina implies the real villian is, and has always been, FIFA. “It was FIFA that transferred the money directly into the accounts of this company in Florida,” he says. “It is FIFA that is supposed to audit the federation’s bank accounts every year.”
“So why has FIFA said nothing?”
Molina also questions the relationship between FIFA’s leadership and the AFA, suggesting the governing body has been reluctant to confront Argentine football’s leadership.
Placing the allegations in a wider political context, Molina argues that FIFA has sought to maintain close ties with South American football in recent years. He notes that after a period of tension between FIFA and CONMEBOL, football’s world governing body became increasingly eager to retain the support of the South American confederation, particularly amid concerns over its relationship with UEFA.
“A few years ago, FIFA and CONMEBOL (the governing body of south american football associations) were at war. FIFA especially did not want to ‘lose’ the South American countries. In fact, they were terrified that powerful countries in this continent could ally themselves with UEFA. And this rivalry could potentially be dangerous for (Gianni) Infantino. So, for a few years CONMEBOL has (surprisingly) been receiving everything” – Romain Molina.
The investigation also revisits allegations previously made against former Argentina women’s youth technical director Diego Alberto Guacci. Five former youth internationals, all minors at the time, had earlier submitted evidence to FIFA accusing Guacci of years of sexual harassment. Molina argues that the players who came forward faced intimidation, while Argentinian journalist investigating the AFA scandals were threatened, harassed, and in some cases, reportedly lost media accreditation.
Molina says his investigation is intended not only to expose alleged wrongdoing within the AFA, but to ask why FIFA, as football’s global governing body and financial regulator, has remained silent.
At the time of publication, neither FIFA nor the AFA had responded to the latest allegations raised in Molina’s investigation.
The allegations remain just as they are; allegations. And no criminal findings have been made regarding the claims presented by Molina.
