As Argentina Prepares For World Cup Quarterfinals, The Argentina Football Federation is Being Investigated By The FBI For Possible Fraud and Money Laundering in the United States

Yahoo! – As first reported by Argentinian newspaper La Nación, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the Argentine Football Association (AFA) for possible fraud and money laundering in the United States as the team moves through the World Cup.

According to a report from La Nación, the FBI is investigating how the AFA moved more than $300 million to banks and companies in the United States.

This is why, as an American, there should be no reason to feel guilt over whatever strings we had to pull to get Flo Balogun's red card suspension overturned. That's mostly because we suck ass at soccer regardless. But it's also because international soccer is crawling with the most corrupt people in the world. If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying. Different countries go about it in different ways, and for different reasons, but everyone is up to something. 

The United States allegedly used its world power status to get a slightly above average striker back onto the pitch. Russia bribed FIFA officials to win the World Cup hosting gig. Quatar built a World Cup using slaves. Argentina allegedly moved $300M to banks and companies in the United States, some of which may or may not be real.

“The scandal has expanded into an international investigation, placing Miami at the center of a complex web of shell companies, offshore transfers and opaque financial flows that might have deceived U.S. banks about the potentially illicit nature of the funds and how they would be used. At its core lies a familiar pattern: money moving quickly, obscured ownership and oversight struggling to keep pace,” the Miami Herald wrote on Thursday.

An investigation by La Nación uncovered a number of questionable bank transfers and payments, including $340,000 to the family of a so-called “spiritual guide” who traveled with the national team to major tournaments and $2.3 million routed to a U.S.-registered company tied to an individual with “no clear financial profile.”

“We are talking about at least $260 million …, and it’s a provisional figure that will grow,” Pizzi told The Miami Herald.

At least the United States had a good reason for our "transgressions". That red card was bullshit. Everybody said it. I even heard people with accents say it. And somebody had to step up and get to the ball rolling when it comes to challenging soccer's stupid, way-too-harsh red card rule. You could argue that we did international soccer a favor. 

Maybe that money laundering shit flies in South America, but not up here in The North. The most powerful entities in our country don't just get away with moving money around in illegal creative ways to the tune of zero consequences. $2.3 million to a United States-registered company with no clear financial profile? Transferring $340,000 to the family of a spiritual guide? What's that about, Argentina? How deep does this go? How do I connect the dots between this and the World Cup referees going back in time to call a foul on Egypt and negate their second goal vs Argentina in the Round of 32?

FIFA + international soccer as a whole is the Wild West. I love it. I really do. Soccer is the world's game, and the world is a corrupt place. All this corruption only makes international soccer a better representation of the world we live in. It's kind of beautiful really. It's a beautiful game.