In March 2024, retired Argentine football star Carlos Tevez raised eyebrows with a cryptic tweet suggesting suspicious activity in a Buenos Aires suburb.

Tevez claimed the treasurer of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) had been making frequent trips to Pilar, hinting that the official had buried bags of cash and maintained a collection of antique cars.

The progressive political party Coalicion Civica launched an investigation following Tevez’s post, filing a criminal complaint centered on a mysterious villa in Pilar.

As the World Cup looms, the villa has become the latest in a series of scandals rocking Argentina’s football governing body, which oversees the game in the reigning world champions’ country.

In early December, police raided AFA headquarters and more than a dozen clubs as part of a money-laundering investigation tied to club transfers and a financial services company.

Three days later, authorities raided the Pilar villa, discovering a heliport, stables, and 54 vehicles, including luxury and collectible cars. Coalicion Civica alleges the property serves as a front for laundering money linked to AFA President Chiqui Tapia and Treasurer Pablo Toviggino.

Last week, prosecutors charged Tapia, Toviggino, and other AFA leaders with unlawful retention of taxes totaling $13 million, following a complaint from Argentina’s tax agency, according to La Nacion.

The AFA did not respond to a Reuters request for an interview with Tapia or Toviggino, or for comment on the various judicial investigations.

In a public statement, the association said it is being targeted by the government of President Javier Milei, referring to Milei’s push for Argentina’s football clubs, which have long functioned as nonprofit entities run by members, to become for-profit companies under private ownership.

"We are on the right path,” the AFA said, citing competitions Argentina has won since Tapia became president in 2017, including the 2022 World Cup. A representative for Tevez did not respond to a request for comment. Toviggino also did not respond.

Crisis despite success

Despite plaudits for Argentina’s performance on the field, the AFA is experiencing its biggest crisis in years.

"There are two AFAs,” said Nestor Centra, an Argentine sports journalist, referring to its international success and domestic instability.

Several months after Tevez’s tweet, Matias Yofe, president of Coalicion Civica’s branch in Pilar, said he and colleagues spoke with about 10 employees who had worked at the Pilar property and believed that Toviggino or Tapia were the owners.

One person, Yofe said, described Tapia arriving by helicopter and gifting employees football jerseys.

"What they described was they moved as owners of the place, they got in the pool, used the facilities,” Yofe said. "Everyone indicated that this belongs to people of the AFA.”

Coalicion Civica’s complaint alleges the property was purchased in 2024 by a company owned by Ana Lucia Conte and Luciano Nicolas Pantano, a mother and son who, the party claims, could not afford the purchase.

An attorney who has represented Pantano did not respond to a request for comment.

Records reviewed by Reuters indicate the property, spanning several city blocks, was bought for $1.8 million, though experts say it is worth much more.

The complaint also points to Pantano’s connections to the football world, including serving as head of the Argentine Civil Association of Futsal and Beach Football.

According to court documents, officials found a black imitation leather bag branded with the AFA logo and Toviggino’s name during the raid, along with several football books and a plaque honoring Toviggino.

The 54 vehicles included a Ferrari and several Porsches, registered under the company tied to Pantano and Conte.

An official with knowledge of the case said Toviggino’s relatives had authorization to drive some of the cars, confirming a report by local television station TN.

Authorities have requested information on pilots who used the heliport to learn more about passengers.

The justice ministry has demanded that the AFA and the Superliga, which handles transmission rights for matches, provide explanations for accounting entries totaling nearly half a billion dollars dating to 2017.

Daniel Vitolo, head of the ministry’s Inspector General’s office, said those amounts appear in balance sheets under generic categories such as "others.” The Superliga declined to comment.

"If the AFA really has its papers in order, why doesn’t it explain something that’s very easy to explain?” he said.

‘These things happen’

Experts say it is unlikely the judicial cases will affect Argentina’s participation in the World Cup.

"No one can pay the political cost of doing that,” said Alan Wilder, a sports law attorney in Buenos Aires. "No one would approve of the mere idea of taking (Lionel) Messi out of the World Cup, with this possibly being his last World Cup. He’s the sacred cow.”

Football worldwide is no stranger to financial scandals.

In recent years, top FIFA officials have faced corruption charges.

Tapia’s predecessor resigned amid an investigation into irregularities in match broadcasting funds; those charged in that case were absolved this month.

Prior to the current scandals, the AFA had already faced fan criticism for favoritism, including awarding Rosario Central, home of national star Angel Di Maria, a controversial new trophy.

"I think the lid has been blown off the pot,” said Enzo Gutierrez, 30, a Buenos Aires resident who supports San Martin, a team from his native province of San Juan. "It has grabbed my attention a lot, but if you’re a football fan, you live knowing that these things happen in Argentine football.”