CONMEBOL President Accused of Misappropriating Funds Recovered from FIFA Corruption Scandal

According to an in-depth investigation by The New York Times, with only weeks remaining before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez is facing allegations that he misappropriated millions of dollars recovered from the massive FIFA corruption scandal that shook world football in 2015.

The complaint was filed by a whistleblower who claims to possess evidence of direct payments, targeting one of the most powerful executives in modern football. Domínguez is not only the head of CONMEBOL but also one of FIFA’s eight vice presidents. The complaint alleges that he and another senior CONMEBOL official received more than $5 million from funds recovered by the confederation from past corruption cases. Three people familiar with the matter revealed that FIFA leadership has been aware of the complaint for more than a year, yet no public action has been taken.

CONMEBOL declined to comment on the matter, stating only that it was unaware of any such complaint. FIFA did not respond to repeated requests for comment, while Domínguez himself also gave no reply. The timing of the allegations is highly sensitive, posing a challenge not only for Domínguez personally, but also for FIFA as it prepares to host the World Cup next month.

Domínguez took over CONMEBOL in 2016 after his predecessor was indicted and imprisoned as part of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation. In 2015, the DOJ uncovered a sprawling two-decade corruption scheme involving officials from CONMEBOL and Concacaf, along with sports marketing executives. The investigation revealed that they manipulated World Cup bidding processes, broadcasting rights, and marketing contracts in exchange for more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks — in some cases delivered in cash-filled briefcases.

Upon taking office, Domínguez publicly promised sweeping reforms. After successfully recovering more than $50 million hidden in bank accounts in Paraguay and Switzerland by former CONMEBOL president Nicolás Leoz in 2020, he declared: “I promised to deliver justice beyond the courts, transform the institution, create unprecedented value, and return to football what belongs to football.”

However, according to the complaint, not all of the recovered money was “returned to football.” The filing alleges that Domínguez secretly diverted part of the funds through bonuses or commissions, with at least one other CONMEBOL official also involved. Documents reviewed by The New York Times show that CONMEBOL reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with the family of former president Leoz, who died in 2019, recovering more than $50 million from accounts in Paraguay and Switzerland. The agreement was designed to end litigation without any admission of wrongdoing.

The current status of the complaint remains unclear. Since Gianni Infantino became FIFA president in 2016, the organization’s ethics committee has become increasingly opaque in the way it handles investigations and complaints. Previously, the nominally independent body would confirm details of investigations involving prominent figures. Last year, however, María Claudia Rojas, head of the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee, told reporters that cases could take years to reach a conclusion.

Miguel Maduro, FIFA’s first governance chief, openly criticized the system, saying: “There is absolutely no transparency in the way the ethics committee handles complaints, and often there are no final rulings. Many times they neither dismiss complaints nor take action — they simply leave cases pending, and nobody knows what they are going to do.” FIFA publishes anonymized annual summaries that reveal little about the substance of individual cases.

Since taking control of CONMEBOL, Domínguez has accumulated considerable influence within FIFA. He long chaired the committee overseeing FIFA’s global finances and until recently sat on the panel responsible for determining Infantino’s multimillion-dollar salary and benefits. He also secured Paraguay the prestigious right to host one of the opening matches of the 2030 World Cup in South America.

Domínguez has cultivated a highly visible public image, even employing a dedicated photography team to document his appearances at major events, while repeatedly insisting that CONMEBOL has “moved beyond the past.” Early in his tenure, he promised to introduce “control systems to ensure transparent accounting and prevent any individual or private entity from profiting from football’s interests.”

Ironically, CONMEBOL itself was officially recognized as a victim in the 2015 corruption case and, alongside FIFA and Concacaf, became eligible to receive compensation from the U.S. Department of Justice’s World Football Remission Fund, which distributed $201 million in recovered assets. At the time, Infantino said: “I am pleased to see money that was illegally taken away being returned to football for its rightful use.”

Despite years of scandals, global football’s governance structure has changed little. The FIFA president still sits atop a pyramid of 211 member associations, elected every four years by those federations. Infantino recently announced that he intends to seek one final term next year. In April, before Infantino had even officially confirmed his candidacy, CONMEBOL under Domínguez became the first confederation to publicly endorse him.