A judge has blocked the account of Pique’s company, which still receives payments from Saudi Arabia for the Super Cup.
A Majadahonda judge investigating alleged irregularities within the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in connection with the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia has agreed to block a bank account belonging to the company of former FC Barcelona player Gerard Pique-Cosmos. Football SL – under which he receives funds from a Saudi company as a bonus for hosting a tournament there. A total of four million euros per year for the footballer’s company.
He does this after receiving a new report from the prosecutor’s office that this embargo is of interest “since it is believed that the development of the investigation may be considered legally controversial, the amounts established as a commission or success fee in favor of the above-mentioned person.” at the Super Bowl box office.”
Judge Delia Rodrigo’s order, which Europa Press had access to, explains that in this case the facts under investigation may constitute an alleged crime of business corruption and an alleged crime of maladministration and money laundering. And he adds that since Kosmos Football SL appears to be under investigation, “the precautionary measures requested by the prosecutor’s office have the necessary legal justification.”
In order to analyze whether a blockade is appropriate, the judge recalls that the purpose of the open investigation is the contract concluded between the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Pique’s company and the SELA Company Sport, owned by the Saudi Arabian government. – conduct negotiations on holding the Saudi Arabian Super Cup.
And that, under the auspices of this contract, “a number of addendums to Super Cup agreements were apparently drawn up, through which the aforementioned company – Kosmos Football SL – was bound as the recipient of a commission of three million euros per release (success bonus).”
He adds that to the account belonging to Piquet’s company, which the prosecutor’s office is asking to block, “the agreed amounts were transferred as a bonus for success, so the purpose of blocking the account is to ensure that the SELA Company Sport organization continues to receive the corresponding income, as it was done before until now, but what is not allowed is that Kosmos Football SL can use the above-mentioned amounts.”
He then indicates that in his opinion, in the present case and in accordance with the interests of the prosecutor’s office, “it is considered necessary and necessary for the purposes of this investigation to agree to the blocking of the requested banking product in order to guarantee possible civil liability arising from this procedure.”
Let’s remember that Rodrigo has already asked about 15 banks to provide him with information about 96 bank accounts in the name of former Barcelona football club player Gerard Pique and another 36, owned by former RFEF president Luis Rubiales.
This is stated in another order in which these proceedings were agreed in December 2022 – at the request of the Central Operations Unit (CO) of the Civil Guard – considering them “adequate, useful and necessary for the full clarification” of the situation. investigation.