Spanish prosecutors dropped all fraud and corruption charges against Neymar and other accused over his transfer to Barcelona from Santos..

2022-10-29 13:37

Spanish prosecutors dropped all fraud and corruption charges against Neymar and other accused over his transfer to Barcelona from Santos..




Sky Sports reported on Friday, citing the AFP, that Spanish prosecutors had dropped all corruption and fraud charges against Brazil international striker Neymar over his transfer to Barcelona.


According to the report, the Spanish prosecutors dropped all charges against Neymar after hearing the statements given by both the plantiff and the defense in court.


Since the charges have been dropped, none of the defendants, including the two former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu, Neymar and his parents, and the former president of Neymar's boyhood club Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Santos and many would face jail time or other penalties.


Nonetheless, defense attorney Baker McKenzie, representing the Paris Saint-Germain star, said in an interview after the trial that he and Neymar would reserve the right to pursue compensation for psychological and reputational damages from the plaintiff, Brazilian investment agency DIS. Lawyer McKenzie accused the plaintiff of "abuse of power, malicious intent and reckless behaviour" while filing the lawsuit against Neymar and the multiple parties, causing the reputation of the many parties to be smeared.


On October 15, 2022, Daily Mail reported that Paris Saint-Germain's Brazil international striker Neymar was accused of fraud and corruption in the transfer fee when he transferred from Santos to Barcelona in 2013 by DIS, during which they had demanded a compensation of €195 million and ordered the player to be jail.


DIS alleges in the lawsuit that Neymar had a contract dispute when he moved from Santos to the La Liga giants. DIS owns 40% of the player's image rights before Neymar's move to Barça.


The group sued the two former Barcelona presidents, Sandro Rosell, Josep Bartomeu, Neymar and his family, as well as the relevant personnel of Neymar’s boyhood club Santos, for concealing the actual amount of the fees of Neymar's transfer to Barcelona, causing the group to suffer huge losses. As the prosecution, they also demanded that the defendants pay a fine of €195million and demand that Neymar be sentenced to 5 years in prison with no statute of limitations.


Subsequently, ESPN made a follow-up report saying that the Barcelona court had informed Neymar that he must appear in court on October 17. In addition, Neymar himself, his parents, Rosell, and Bartomeu had all testifed in court on October 21. 


It is worth mentioning that this is the third criminal lawsuit stemmed after Neymar transferred to Barcelona. In December 2013, Rosell was accused by his opposing Barça presidency candidate Jordi Cases of having embezzled €40million euros of public funds without authorization in Neymar's transfer saga. At that time, Rosell himself denied the relevant allegations and refused to disclose the whereabouts of the funds on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. In June 2014, Rosell was named by a local Spanish court as a tax fraud suspect in the Neymar transfer saga.


The 30-year-old Neymar has made 17 appearances across all competitions for the reigning Ligue 1 champions this season, scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists.