European man uses football legends’ shirts as front in multi-million laundering operation

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

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A scheme involving the sale of signed football shirts by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Zinedine Zidane, to name a few, as well as a massive media campaign has been revealed as a front for money laundering operations, resulting in over BD3 million being siphoned off from unsuspecting victims. The primary suspect, a European man, along with four accomplices, has been referred to trial, with a hearing scheduled for September 24 to listen to the defendants’ arguments.

The case began when authorities received information about the first suspect gathering and receiving money under the guise of a fictitious investment.

Transactions

He established a company with a prominent location and claimed to be investing over BD3 million, concealing these transactions from banks using fraudulent invoices and purchase orders.

Investigations disclosed that the suspect had a criminal history involving fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering across multiple countries.

To evade detection, he adopted various aliases — over five different names — making it difficult for authorities to trace his activities. In 2022, the suspect set up a digital company selling memorabilia and high-value items, including sportswear signed by famous athletes. Investment opportunity This was a ploy to attract victims by presenting a seemingly lucrative investment opportunity.

He rented 44 offices and hired numerous sales staff, training them to engage customers and sell shares in the memorabilia at his dictated prices.

The investigation revealed that he collected funds from victims without a license, securing their trust with contracts that promised high monthly returns on their investments. He even issued cheques that later turned out to have insufficient funds.

Returns

In reality, the funds were not invested in legitimate business activities; instead, he used new investors’ money to pay returns to earlier investors, creating an illusion of a profitable and trustworthy company.

Further evidence indicated that the suspect was the main controller and actual manager of the company, which was registered under the name of a second female suspect, who remains at large.

She is said to have played a key role in the scheme. She was responsible for creating the fake valuations and assisting in bringing the memorabilia to Bahrain, misleading investors about the value of the items.

Financial advisor

Additionally, the third suspect, also at large, acted as a financial advisor, guiding the first suspect on how to conduct operations discreetly to avoid detection by banks.

Had it not been for his advice, the first suspect would not have been able to continue his fraudulent activities undetected.

The fourth suspect initially engaged with the company as an investor but later became a broker for attracting new investors, receiving a commission of 22% for each individual he brought in.

He managed to gather substantial amounts from various investors under the guise of legitimate business dealings.