Buenos Aires, November 25 (NA) – The Federal Taxation Authority (DGI) denounced this Tuesday the financial firm Sur Finanzas, which is alleged to have ties with the head of the AFA, Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia, for alleged tax evasion and money laundering.
The complaint, which was accessed by the Argentine News Agency, was filed with the Federal Prosecutor's Office No. 2 in Lomas de Zamora. It states that the financial firm was used to launder assets and moved around 818 billion pesos.
This initiative came amid criticism of the head of Argentine football for recent irregularities, such as the surprising awarding of a title to Rosario Central based on point accumulation rather than for winning the actual tournament, and suspicions surrounding Pablo Toviggino, a Tapia associate, for his influence over refereeing.
President Javier Milei also waded into the controversy by displaying a Estudiantes de La Plata jersey in his office on Monday.
Sur Finanzas, which is formally owned by Ariel Vallejo, is alleged to have evaded the payment of over 3.3 billion pesos in the 'Check Tax' between 2022 and 2025. The complaint also suspects that there is a money laundering structure behind the firm, which emerged just four years ago in the town of Adrogué but, thanks to Tapia, became an advertiser and lender to clubs in the Argentine first division.
It began operating as a cryptocurrency operator and virtual wallet, handling transactions, and in 2024 adopted the name Sur Finanzas PSP SA. The DGI detected the alleged asset laundering scheme that was set up through Sur Finanzas' virtual wallet via QR payments, SurPos, and payment links, moving up to 818 billion pesos until April of this year.
Suspicions arose when it was confirmed that 31% of those moving money were 'uncategorized subjects,' without registration in ARCA.
In addition to the crime of money laundering, the DGI stated that Sur Finanzas did not pay the check tax that it should have charged to companies operating with its systems or to individuals not covered by the exceptions for the Tax on Debits and Credits, the formal name for the check tax.
For this reason, the DGI considers that Sur Finanzas evaded 3.327 billion pesos since it began operating in 2022 until April of this year.
