Juventus Offices Searched in Soccer Player Trading Probe

(Bloomberg) -- The offices of the Juventus Football Club were searched by Italian financial police seeking information about player trading between 2019 and 2021, according to a statement from the Turin prosecutor.

Judges are looking into whether Juventus managers issued false communications to investors and faked invoices for transactions that never took place, according to the statement. 

Juventus in a statement acknowledged that the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Turin started investigations against the company and some of its current officers, including Andrea Agnelli, Pavel Nedved and Stefano Cerrato. 

The action by law enforcement is in relation to issues surrounding “’revenues from players’ registration rights’ of financial statements as of and for the years ended June 30, 2019, 2020 and 2021,” the statement said. 

Officials are investigating offenses under a code governing false accounting reporting by listed companies, and other matters related to issuance of invoices or other documents for non-existent transactions, Juventus said.

Juventus said it “is cooperating with the investigators” and believes it “acted in compliance with the laws and regulations governing the preparation of financial reports, in accordance with accounting principles, and in line with the international practice in the football industry and market conditions.”

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