Florentino Pérez to testify in Neymar’s transfer to Barça . trial

INA-  SOURCES

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez will appear as a witness in the trial of former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, for the crimes of corporate corruption and fraud in the signing of striker Neymar da Silva, also accused of the same in that operation that ended with the Brazil international at Camp Nou.

Pérez is one of the eighteen witnesses to the oral trial starting on October 17, in the Sixth Division of the Court of Barcelona, ​​in which the Brazilian fund DIS and the Federation of Associations of Professional Athletes of Brazil will appear as personal accusations (FAAP).
According to the court order, which EFE has had access to, the head of the Madrid entity will be called to testify on October 18, the second day of the trial, after DIS presented him as a witness.

The prosecution is demanding 5 years in prison and a 10 million euro fine for Rosell, for corruption and fraud, and 2 years in prison and a further 10 million fine for Neymar, for corruption in the transfer operation.
On the other hand, it dismisses the former president of the Barça entity Josep Maria Bartomeu, vice president when the events took place and who also appears as a defendant in the case.
The prosecution understands that in his case, despite signing the alleged fraudulent contracts to sign the Santos striker between 2011 and 2013, he did not actively participate in the negotiations.

Although Barcelona ended up paying Santos 25.17 million for the player rights and another 60 for various concepts to Neymar’s father’s family business (N&N Consultoria Esportiva), DIS only received 6.8 for its 40%.
In the supporting documents, DIS will also provide the interview that Florentino Pérez gave to the laSexta program ‘Jugones’ on February 3, 2016, in which he assured that, by paying all rightholders, the signing of Neymar, who was also claimed by Real Madrid , amounted to 150 million euros.
The Brazilian fund is now demanding compensation of 150 million euros, 5 years in prison for the player and another 8 years in prison for Rosell and Bartomeu.

Likewise, the FAAP believes that the alleged fraudulent operation between Barcelona and Santos also violated their rights, established for social purposes and comprising a small percentage of the transfer rights.
In addition to Neymar, Rosell and Bartomeu, the father and mother of the player are accused, for whom the prosecutor is seeking 2 years and 1 year in prison respectively for two separate crimes of corporate corruption, and the former Santos manager Odilio Rodrígues, for questioning to 3 years imprisonment for the crime of fraud.

Three legal entities will also be tried for their participation in the case: FC Barcelona, ​​​​Santos FC and N&N Consultoría Esportiva, for which the Public Prosecution Service is demanding fines of 8.4, 7 and 1.44 million euros respectively.
Neymar’s transfer has been going through a legal process for years, with multiple open fronts causing numerous legal and financial problems for FC Barcelona.

In 2016, the Catalan entity already agreed to pay 5.5 million euros for two tax crimes, in a consent decree that made Barça the first football team to be convicted as a legal entity.
That pact with the prosecutor’s office allowed the then president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and his predecessor, Sandro Rosell, to be exempted from criminal liability.


SOURCE: THE NATIONAL VIEW