Former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has been arrested, according to Spanish authorities. Rosell's arrest followed several early morning raids on Rosell's businesses as well as his home near the famed Camp Nou where the Barcelona soccer team plays, as part of a suspected money laundering scheme.
Police sources indicate that Rosell and Ricardo Teixeira are accused of skimming funds from sale of image rights of the Brazilian national soccer team. That money was then reportedly laundered in tax havens which included Qatar, Switzerland and Andorra.
Teixeira has been the subject of accusations before: the former president of the Brazilian football federation was forced to step down in 2012 following corruption allegations. Teixeira has been linked but not officially charged in the current investigation, which is ongoing.
Rosell, a former Nike executive in Brazil, is no stranger to controversy himself. He took over as president of FC Barcelona in 2010 but resigned in 2014 after being charged with tax fraud related to the signing of Brazilian forward Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (known simply as Neymar). Eventually, FC Barcelona paid €13,550,830.56 ($18.6 million US) to Spanish tax authorities to resolve issues related to bringing Neymar to the club from the Brazilian club, Santos. At the time, the FC Barcelona denied any wrong-doing, stressing that the payment was a "voluntary contribution" and that "FC Barcelona has no tax debts."
Despite the settlement, prosecutors wanted to hold Neymar accountable for his part in the alleged fraud. This year, Spanish authorities successfully argued that Neymar and his parents should stand trial together with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Rosell in the matter.
Neymar also found himself under fire in Brazil. Last year, he was found guilty in a Brazilian court of tax fraud for failing to report income and ordered to pay 188.8 million Brazilian reals ($51.74 million U.S.) in penalty, interest and back taxes.
Rosell, through his lawyer, has denied the most recent allegations against him. Reportedly, information related to the scheme was obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) following a number of arrests in 2015 related to FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the international governing body of soccer. The defendants charged in that case included high-ranking FIFA officials, as well as leading officials of other soccer governing bodies that operate under the FIFA umbrella. In total, 14 defendants were charged with racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracies, and other offenses, in the scheme. The defendants included two current FIFA Vice Presidents as well as the current and former Presidents of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
FC Barcelona has been plagued with tax trouble over the past few years.
In 2016, a Spanish court found FC Barcelona striker Lionel Messi guilty of three counts of tax fraud despite making a "corrective payment" to clear tax debts that Spanish authorities allege were due. The soccer star was sentenced to 21 months in prison subject to a pending appeal.
That same year, FC Barcelona's Javier Mascherano pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud and fined €815,000 ($880,078 US) together with a 12 month prison sentence. Also that year, former FC Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o Fils (Samuel Eto'o), currently a striker for Antalyaspor, was accused of tax evasion: Spanish prosecutors are seeking a fine of $15.1 million as well as a prison sentence of 10 years and six months relating to allegations that Eto'o failed to pay over $4 million in taxes.
Other players accused of tax fraud with links to Barcelona include Arsenal forward (and former Barcelona player) Alexis Sanchez and Adriano (formerly with Barcelona, now with Beşiktaş).
Barcelona is ranked #2 on Forbes' list of most expensive soccer teams with an estimated team value of $3.549 billion.
