The defense of AFA President Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia has requested the nullification of his summons to give a statement scheduled for Thursday, March 5. This summons is part of an investigation into the alleged improper retention of contributions amounting to over $19.353 billion. The request was submitted by his lawyers, Norberto Frontini and Lucio Simonetti, while Economic Crimes Court Judge Diego Amarante must decide whether to grant the request or uphold the summons. The defense's strategy is based on the fact that an appeal before the National Chamber of Economic Crimes against the decision to dismiss the case for lack of a crime is still pending. The ban on leaving the country issued for the accused was also appealed. However, both the prosecutor's office and ARCA opposed this argument, and Judge Amarante supported this stance, considering that the suspension of executions does not eliminate the tax obligation or authorize the omission of payment. The General Inspection of Justice (IGJ) responded to Claudio Tapia and affirmed that the AFA remains under its jurisdiction, as the transfer of its headquarters to Pilar did not meet the legal requirements. The head of the body, Daniel Vítolo, described the statement issued by the AFA as 'pathetic' and defended the request for overseers to review accounting, financial, and contractual documentation. As he explained, the entity never canceled its registration with the IGJ, a necessary condition to change the scope of control. Additionally, he pointed out alleged administrative irregularities and denied that the oversight implies an intervention, emphasizing that it only seeks to supervise information in the face of detected inconsistencies. The lawyers argue that resolutions from the Ministry of Economy—such as 17/2024 and its extensions—suspended fiscal executions against civil associations, which, in their view, would prevent classifying the case within the penal sphere.
