Pinhas Zahavi, Neymar’s players’ agent, is despised in Belgium for forgery and money laundering, knows The newspapaer. For years, the Israeli advocacy illegally owned Royal Excel Mouscron, where he made money from shady transfers. Zahavi has since been interrogated and, based on that interrogation, accused by a Brussels investigating judge.
Shortly before his summer vacation, Zahavi spoke with investigating judge Michel Claise about his illegal trade at the Belgian football club. The players’ agent was immediately identified as a suspect, but was allowed to go home. In Belgium, research has been going on for some time into the practices at Mouscron. In April 2018, the first investigation began and the investigating judge looked for evidence that the club had been illegally financed and controlled by Zahavi between 2015 and 2018. Since 2015, it has been prohibited for clubs to be owned by players’ agents.
To hide the latter from the licensing commission, Mouscron covered up Zahavi’s evidence and the club and the broker even forged documents. Mouscron was also suspected of fraud and forgery in August last year, reports reported The newspapaer. Investigators got wind of Zahavi pumping money into the club through a number of firms in Malta, which he owned himself, when that was no longer allowed. Despite all the evidence and taxes, Mouscron still received a license every year to be active at the highest level.
Last year, the club was relegated to the first division. Moekroen is now in the hands of the Luxembourg businessman Gérard Lopez. Zahavi, meanwhile, is mainly involved in the Premier League. The Israeli is seen as a confidant of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea. Contact was also made this summer between the two parties to ensure the transfer of Robert Lewandowksi to the English superpower, but it did not get that far.
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