Justice has advanced in the case investigating alleged irregularities in the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and has resolved to prosecute Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia, Pablo Toviggino, Nicolás Malaspina, Víctor Blanco, and Gustavo Lorenzo for the crime of improper withholding of contributions.
The measure was signed in recent hours by Judge Diego Amarante, who ordered the accused to be prosecuted without preventive detention, considering that there are sufficient elements to prima facie link them to the facts under investigation.
Additionally, the magistrate ordered a 350 million peso embargo for the main implicated parties as part of the progress of the judicial file, within a framework of a case that points to irregularities related to contributions and resources of the system, according to the Argentine News Agency.
It was also ordered for both AFA executives 'the obligation not to be absent from their respective domiciles for a term longer than 72 hours without putting said circumstance to the knowledge of the Tribunal'.
Therefore, Tapia will have to ask for permission from Justice to attend La Bombonera this Tuesday for the friendly match that the National Team will play against its counterpart from Zambia, one of the last matches that Lionel Messi will play with the sky-blue and white jersey.
The investigation, spurred on by a complaint from the Revenue and Customs Control Agency (ARCA), estimates an evasion and withholding of funds for an amount exceeding 19,000 million pesos corresponding to the 2024 and 2025 periods.
The defense of the executives maintains that the case 'lacks typicity' and that the AFA committed no crime whatsoever.
However, justice decided to maintain the prohibition on leaving the country for Tapia and Toviggino, who in their previous interrogatory statements had chosen to present written statements without answering questions.
To date, Tapia has not issued any statement on the matter.
His last public message became known on Sunday, when he celebrated his 'nine years of management', supporting his leadership and, in addition to sporting achievements, highlighted a 'positive economic balance', in a context marked by a strong judicial investigation.
The Economic Crimes Judge had summoned Tapia and Toviggino and other executives to testify in court weeks ago for the alleged improper appropriation of tax withholdings.
He had also prohibited both from leaving the country, four months before the World Cup in the United States, although he later granted Tapia the corresponding permission.
The case investigates the alleged improper appropriation of more than $19,353 million corresponding to tax withholdings and social security contributions between March 2024 and September 2025.
