A corruption investigation into Argentina's football federation, the AFA, has expanded after judicial authorities began analyzing a series of chat messages.
The exchanges appear to connect two senior officials to a scheme involving cash payments, referee appointments and suspected match manipulation linked to illegal betting.
The messages under review by Judge Luis Antonio Armella and Prosecutor Cecilia Incardona center on Pablo Toviggino, AFA Treasurer, and his former associate Juan Pablo Beacon. In exchanges dated March 2021, a contact identified as "Tovi II" and attributed by investigators to Toviggino allegedly instructed Beacon to collect envelopes with cash addressed to Federico Beligoy, the federation's National Director of Refereeing. No amounts or stated purposes appear in the messages.
The investigation adds a media dimension to an already complex case. Evidence analyzed by the court suggests that sports journalist Pablo Carrozza received monthly transfers between ARS 40,000 ($30) and 50,000 during 2020 and 2021, with some sources indicating the payments continued until 2025, from Malte SRL, a company linked to Toviggino.
The amounts would have represented significantly higher value in both dollar terms and local purchasing power at the time, before being eroded by Argentina’s high rate of inflation.
The funds are alleged to have been used to build a narrative favorable to the AFA administration and to publicly target referee Nicolás Jara, who is separately under suspicion for manipulating match results to benefit illegal betting operations.
The broader investigation traces back to a 2024 criminal complaint filed by Buenos Aires City Legislator Facundo Del Gaiso against Jara, Beligoy and Toviggino for alleged fraud in connection with irregular refereeing decisions. That case was ultimately archived in the federal courts for lack of a federal offense.
However, the emergence of new messages under review has reignited scrutiny. Toviggino previously denied wrongdoing, and neither Beligoy nor Carrozza have issued public statements on the content of the messages.
The case comes as Argentina's lower-division football ecosystem faces mounting pressure over the penetration of illegal betting networks, with multiple clubs in recent seasons having investigated or dismissed players over suspected match-fixing activity.
Argentina's legal betting market, where operators must use the .bet.ar domain, is estimated to represent only 20 to 30 percent of total sports wagering in the country, with the remainder flowing through unlicensed platforms.
