Dhe Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office is again investigating the German Football Association (DFB) on charges of tax evasion. The authority confirmed this to the German press agency on Thursday. According to reports from the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Bild-Zeitung, the issue is the taxation of benefits in kind by DFB sponsor Adidas between 2015 and 2020. The investigators visited the Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach on Wednesday. “There was no search, the documents were given out voluntarily,” said a spokeswoman for the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor. She did not provide details on the procedure.
“We can confirm that Adidas is fully cooperating with the responsible authorities in the context of tax proceedings that are not pending against Adidas itself, but against a third party,” said the sporting goods manufacturer on request. “Search measures at Adidas did not take place due to the commitment to fully support the investigation.”
The allegations related to benefits in kind from Adidas first became known in January. At the time, the DFB confirmed that as a precautionary measure, “after informing the Presidium, a late report based on a maximum assessment to the tax office” had been made.
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