2023-06-29 22:59:01
The deputy managing director of FC Nantes and two other people have been indicted for money laundering, aggravated money laundering and illegal exercise of the activity of sports agent, the Rennes prosecutor’s office announced on Thursday.
The Deputy Managing Director of FC Nantes, Franck Kita, as well as “two people, including a players’ agent“, were indicted on Thursday and placed under judicial control, announced in a press release the parquet floor of Rennes.
These three people were indicted, in particular heads of “laundering, aggravated laundering, laundering of tax evasion, exercise of the activity of sports agent without a valid license“, According to the press release of the prosecutor Philippe Astruc.
Read alsoJustice: Waldemar Kita placed in police custody by the Nantes judicial police
Also added are “illegal exercise of the activity of sports agent by a national of a Member State or party to the agreement on the European economic area and complicity, illegal exercise of the activity of sports agent by a national of a State that is not a member of the European Union or not a party to the agreement on the European economic area and complicity».
The facts relate in particular to transfers of players to FC Nantes between 2015 and 2018.
«One of the defendants has already been convicted of tax evasion, including a ban on managing“recalled the prosecutor without further details.
According to the local press, in addition to Franck Kita, the two people indicted are Bakari Sanogo and Joaquim Batica, agents of certain Nantes players.
Waldemar Kita in custody
For his part, the owner of the club and father of Franck, Waldemar Kita, was also placed in police custody on Wednesday, like the other three people, but released on Wednesday at the end of the day. He “will be reconvened later“, According to the press release.
The French Football Federation (FFF) is a civil party, indicates the magistrate.
Initially launched by the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, which then forwarded it to the French judicial authorities, the investigation notably highlighted the fact that “the leaders of FC Nantes would have resorted on a recurring basis, at least since 2015, to the employment of unauthorized sports agents by establishing contracts for sports agents and employment contracts for players under the guise of nominees, both in the context of player transfer negotiations and in the context of the negotiation of player employment contracts“, explains the press release.
During the investigation,several FC Nantes employees were heard in police custody, in addition to numerous witnesses, including players“, also indicates the press release.
«The investigations mainly focused on the analysis of contracts, bank accounts and financial flows, with analysis of the numerous documents seized during the search. A laundering of large-scale tax evasion would also have been updated against one of the protagonists“, further specifies the prosecutor.
On May 10, 2022, three days after Nantes’ coronation in the Coupe de France, three club officials had already been placed in police custody for several hours as part of an investigation into player transfers.
According to several media, the investigators were then interested in commissions paid to Bakari Sanogo during several transfers.
As part of this investigation, searches had previously been carried out in December 2020 at the club’s headquarters, at the Jonelière training center.
Agent of Moussa Sissoko, Bakari Sanogo is an intermediary close to Waldemar Kita who has regularly called on his services in his recruitments.
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