An inquiry into alleged corruption led to the Wednesday arrest of Luis Rubiales, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) ex-head. And apparently, he may take former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique down with him.
According to Spain’s state prosecutors, police searched eleven locations for evidence. The investigation into corruption and money laundering led to the arrest of seven people, including Rubiales.
Upon his arrival in Madrid from the Dominican Republic, authorities apprehended Rubiales. He was thus subjected to a short interrogation by the authorities. In 2019, the RFEF and the Saudi sports authorities reached a lucrative three-year agreement to host the tournament in Saudi Arabia. He is now facing questions as part of a corruption inquiry into this arrangement.
Although he disputes the charges, prosecutors are asking for a sentence of 2.5 years in prison. Previous inquiries over the veracity of Rubiales’s revenues have led him to state: “I don’t know what the judge has said or what Civil Guard has investigated. The money in my bank account is the result of my work and my savings.”
Spanish FA contracts for La Cartuja stadium refurbishment in Seville are also part of the corruption and money laundering probe. It plays home to many international events and will also serve as the venue for Saturday’s Copa del Rey final.
Now it seems that Gerard Pique, a former defender for Barcelona, is also under investigation by the Spanish authorities. As part of their investigation into the Luis Rubiales corruption case, they are checking his financial accounts.
The probe has now shifted its explicit emphasis to Pique, according to Mundo Deportivo. Kosmos, the firm that the ex-player owns, had a role in the 2020 agreement that brought the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
But there has been no raid on Kosmos premises. Authorities have not arrested any employees or placed anyone under investigation. That’s according to an official from the business. Pique’s firm was most recognized for its association with the Davis Cup. Despite an original 25-year arrangement, the deal lasted from 2018 through 2023.
The report adds that Blaugrana great bribed Luis Rubiales and other federation executives during the negotiations to have the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. The Spanish Civil Guard now maintains that it is imperative to determine whether it’s true.
Rumor has it that the 37-year-old will emerge from the investigation just as terrible, if not worse, than Luis Rubiales.
“Do not doubt that Pique is going to testify as a person under investigation because Kosmos is accused and Rubiales as well”, Miguel Angel Galan, the lead prosecutor in the inquiry told El Desmarque,
“Pique is going to testify as a safe suspect, because we are talking about $26 million in illegal commissions. There is a devastating report on the general intervention of the state at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, in which it says that Kosmos was an intermediary of the Spanish National Football Team.
“Therefore, both the RFEF and Pique cannot continue to repeat that the former footballer was an agent of Arabia. Because the RFEF’s contract with Saudi Arabia says that if the commission is not paid to Pique, the contract is broken”.
“Consequently, there is the corruption of the business conditioning the contract for Pique’s commission, with the aggravating circumstance that there was another offer at the same time and another contract from Qatar bigger than this one, where there was no room for commission agents.”
PHOTOS: IMAGO.
