Rooting out tax evasion, money laundering in Argentine soccer

Argentina is looking to cut tax evasion and money laundering among soccer clubs in the country, according to an Associated Press story posted in Bloomberg Businessweek.

The Argentine “tax chief”, Ricardo Echegaray, says clubs must put player transfer profits into special bank accounts, with player contracts to be reported along with the profits. Investors and player agents must also be registered. If something doesn’t add up, those people will not be allowed to operate in Argentina. There’s hundreds of millions of dollars in profits out there, but Echegaray says in the story that players are being cheated by “shadowy businessmen hiding their cash.”

From the story:

His solution: Force people who invest in the rights to players in Argentina’s first- and second-division professional soccer leagues to identify themselves on government registries. Sports agents representing the players also must register. And the cash must be banked and declared to the Argentine government and therefore tax authorities.

— Jimmy LaRoue