Police Raid Argentine Football Federation, Clubs In Graft Probe

Argentine authorities raided the headquarters of the national football federation and several major teams on Tuesday as part of a money-laundering probe, a police source told AFP.

In a wave of simultaneous raids ordered by a judge, officers searched the Argentine Football Federation offices, south of Buenos Aires, and teams including Racing Club, San Lorenzo, Independiente and Banfield, the source said.

“So far there have been 25 to 30 raids of teams and private homes,” the source said, also confirming the raid on the federation headquarters.

Agents were looking for accounting information related to finance company Sur Finanzas, which sponsors several teams and is suspected of malpractice.

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Last month tax authorities filed a complaint against the firm accusing it of dodging taxes on Argentine pesos equivalent to $550 million.

The company has carried out a number of business deals in the world of Argentine football and its CEO Ariel Vallejo is close to the head of the football federation, Claudio Tapia.

Last year Sur Finanzas was the official sponsor of the Argentine football league and the national team.