Massimo Ferrero was apprehended Monday due to financial crimes unrelated to Sampdoria. The inquiry started in 2010 and found that the chairman orchestrated a series of companies and fake operations to pocket money from his creditors and evade taxes, Corriere della Sera reports.
Ferrero quickly stepped down from his role as Sampdoria president. COO Alberto Bosco is currently managing the team, and he reassured the employees and the players. A trust was already in place to safeguard the outfit from potential legal troubles.
Ferrero is accused of eluding nearly €6M in taxes, among other charges. In 2014, he justified the missing records by denouncing that a car with them inside of it was stolen. According to the investigators, he committed false accounting and purposedly let some firms go bankrupt to avoid paying his debts. His daughter Vanessa and nephew Giorgio are also under investigation, plus five other administrators. The former chairman primarily works in the movie industry.
His lawyer Giuseppina Tenga explained: “Sampdoria have nothing to do with this situation. He had to resign because he could not handle a club from prison. The probe concerns his private businesses, including his filmmaking company. The detectives are looking into some bankruptcies in 2017. I do not question the measure, but it could have been handled differently. Ferrero was in Milan at the time because he was negotiating the hiring of Dejan Stankovic.”
The flamboyant businessman took over the team from Edoardo Garrone in 2014 for free, simply pledging to pay €15M debts. His relationship with the fans quickly went sour. Gianluca Vialli had put together a consortium to buy Sampdoria in 2020, but Ferrero turned down the proposal. The sale of the team is a highly likely outcome after the arrest, Ansa reports.
Ferrero talked to the press today: “If I wanted to flee, I could have done it while we were filming Pekin Express. They did not give me the house arrests as they thought it would not have been enough. But how could I escape if the police had been following for a while? I got angry yesterday because they did not allow me to be present while searching my home in Rome. I am fine health-wise, and I just had a nosebleed because of high pressure.”
Board member Gianluca Vidal addressed the future of the club to Il Secolo XIX: “As Ferrero often say, a negative situation might generate a positive one. I have received inquiries from a few relevant entrepreneurs, whom I was already familiar with. This could speed up the process. As far as I know, nobody who showed interest so far has a connection with Vialli. He is a serious person, and he might reach out later on. We are looking for a wealthy, reliable, and respectable investor. In the meantime, the trust will continue to serve its purpose, trying to navigate this tough situation and bankrolling the day-to-day operations.”