October 18 – Spanish prosecutors are reported to have set a February trial date for former Barcelona strongman Sandro Rosell who is accused of money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team.
Rosell, his wife and four others are accused of “large-scale money laundering” of at least €19.9 million since 2006 and their high-profile trial will begin on February 25, according to unnamed AFP sources.
The European Clubs Association’s one-time leader faces an 11-year jail sentence, as well as a fine of €59 million, for laundering and belonging to a criminal organisation,
The trial will apparently be held from February 25-28 and then March 11-14 and 25-27.
Rosell and his wife are accused of hiding money illegally obtained between 1989 and 2012 by Ricardo Teixeira, former head of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
Some €15 million was allegedly siphoned off in illegal commissions from the broadcasting rights of 24 friendlies of the Brazilian team, and another €5 million from a sponsorship contract with Nike that was allegedly paid into an Andorran account.
Altogether, Rosell and his wife allegedly pocketed €6.6 million with €8.4 million destined for Teixeira, prosecutors say.
Rosell, a former Nike representative in Brazil who ran Barcelona from 2010-14, has been in custody since his arrest last year while Teixeira, a former FIFA vice-president, has been indicted by US Justice Department prosecutors investigating the FIFA corruption scandal. Described in his homeland as the man of a thousand contacts, he rarely appears in public these days and stays in Brazil for fear of being arrested.
In a separate case in Spain, Rosell is due to stand trial at some point for fraud and corruption charges involving the transfer of Neymar from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. He resigned as Barcelona president the following year.
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