July 2 – Imprisoned former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is to stand trial for alleged money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team.
Investigative judge Carmen Lamela has ruled that that there is evidence that Rosell –- plus his wife and four more individuals – misappropriated money from the sale of television rights for matches featuring Brazil, and from a sponsorship contract between Nike and Brazil.
She says Rosell, the European Clubs Association’s one-time front man, and his wife are suspected of having siphoned off nearly €15 million from a TV rights deal for the Brazilian national team along with former FIFA bigwig Ricardo Teixeira, and another €5 million from the Nike contract.
Rosell, a former Nike representative in Brazil who ran Barcelona from 2010-14, has been in custody since his arrest last year. According to Spanish reports, to avoid him being caught the money collected was allegedly laundered through fictitious companies established in tax havens.
Teixeira, a former FIFA vice-president and Brazilian football supremo, has been indicted by US Justice Department prosecutors investigating the FIFA corruption scandal. Described in his homeland as the man of a thousand contacts, he rarely appears in public these days and stays in Brazil for fear of being arrested.
In a separate case in Spain, Rosell is standing trial for fraud and corruption charges involving the transfer of Neymar from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. He resigned as Barcelona president the following year.
Although he was cleared of all charges in connection with an alleged tax fraud case over the transfer following an agreement with prosecutors, Rosell is nevertheless being probed for fraud and corruption relating to a parallel complaint filed by Brazilian investment company DIS, which owned 40% of Neymar’s sporting rights at the time of the transfer.
DIS claims it was denied its fair share because part of the transfer fee was concealed by Barcelona, Santos and the Neymar family.
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