Almost the whole Juventus brass is being investigated for accounting fraud and fake invoicing. In particular, president Andrea Agnelli, his right-hand man Pavel Nedved and former director Fabio Paratici. The current one Federico Cherubini was recently interrogated for ten hours.
The prosecutors are looking into the conspicuous plusvalenze made by Juventus since 2019, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports. They suspect it was a method to doctor the balance sheets and mask the losses. Moreover, they are examining the relationship between the club and some agents. The Bianconeri have paid sky-high commissions in recent windows. The detectives also captured a conversation mentioning a secret document about Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract.
Juventus had been under scrutiny by authorities Covisoc, which checks the sides’ finances, and Consob, which monitors the listed companies, before the criminal inquiry. The Italian FA started a probe a few weeks back. The punishment on the sporting side could be hefty. However, they will be a result of the findings by ordinary justice. They could take years to materialize. The investigation will likely implicate other teams, as the practice was common. Although, the Bianconeri exploited it the most, as their tally amounted to €282M.
Juventus brought in a new CEO last summer in former Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene. Considering the potential ramifications of the investigation, his role will become more prominent. He will oversee all the economic operations, making sure they are sustainable and above board. The Bianconeri had been trying to cut the costs since the pandemic hit. They registered a €210M loss in the 2020-2021 session. The team stated that they were cooperating.