CHELSEA FC could face a points deduction after leaked docs revealed Roman Abramovich may have breached football rules.
A string of secret payments that allegedly helped fund the club’s success made by its former Russian oligarch owner could see it punished by the Premier League.
ReutersRoman Abramovich may have breached ‘financial fair play’ regulations during his tenure at Chelsea, new docs claim[/caption]
The secret payments also appear to be linked to a contract signing with former manager Antonio ConteGetty
AFP – GettyThe hidden payments allegedly may have helped fuel Chelsea’s success[/caption]
The transactions, uncovered by the Guardian and an international investigation, reveal a hidden money trail worth tens of millions of pounds that spans over a decade.
The evidence suggests that off-book funds, routed through offshore accounts belonging to Abramovich, could have broken “financial fair play” regulations.
The transactions are alleged to have benefited Chelsea and questions are being raised over whether they were officially declared to football’s governing bodies.
The beneficiaries appear to include an associate of manager Antonio Conte, former club’s of various star players and other Chelsea FC officials.
Chelsea’s finances are already being examined by the Premiere League in an investigation into the period from 2012 to 2019.
The west London club announced that “incomplete financial information” had been submitted while Abramovich was at the helm.
UEFA, the governing body of European football, has already fined the club £8.6million over the admission, while the Football Association is also said to be investigating.
The new documents, however, span both inside and outside of this period and have sparked a fresh round of scrutiny over whether Abramovich repeatedly flouted football rules.
The payments came to light after a major investigation known as Cyprus Confidential into 3.6million different records.
The alleged off-book payments link a business deal Abramovich made with an Italian football agent, Federico Pastorello, and the signing of Antonio Conte.
On July 18, 2017, Conibair Holdings – an Abramovich-owned company registered in the British Virgin Islands – signed an agreement with Pastorello.
Conibair paid Pastorello – who is reportedly close to Chelsea’s ex-manager, Conte – £10million for a 75 per cent stake in a US-based business fund.
The same day, Chelsea announced that Conte had signed a new £9.6million-a-year contract.
Another Abramovich owned company, Leiston Holdings, also paid £1 million in 2013 to the ex-club of Bertrand Traoré, Association des Jeunes Espoirs de Bobo.
However, the contract was signed two months after the full-back officially signed for Chelsea.
Other payments are also related to the signings of players Willian and Samuel Eto’o in 2013.
A further company owned by the ex-Chelsea boss made payments that appear to have benefited the owner of their former a club, Anzhi Makhachkala.
After the payments were made, Chelsea signed Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o and forward Willian in two days from the now defunct club.
It comes as the dossier of uncovered documents also included bombshell files that linked the oligarch to two men dubbed the “wallets” of Vladimir Putin, a BBC investigation claims.
The leaked documents reportedly reveal new evidence that links Abramovich to a secret £26 million ($40m) deal in 2010.
The alleged covert deal saw transferred shares in Video International, a highly-profitable Russian advertising company, for less than they appeared to be worth.
The transactions were allegedly made by companies owned by a trust connected with Abramovich to two members of Putin’s inner circle, who in return received millions of dollars in dividends.
Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK and EU due to his links to Putin his bloody war in Ukraine.
GettyThe leaked docs have raised questions over the signings of Wilan as well as Samuel Eto’o in 2013[/caption]
AFP or licensorsThe signing of midfielder Bertrand Traore is also under scrutiny[/caption]