Six elite football players, including world cup winners and former Barcelona and Sevilla stars, are confronted with fraud accusations after a crypto company that promotes them, with millions in investor funds disappeared, giving thousands of worthless digital tokens.
Barcelona’s fifth district court has started a criminal investigation into one crypto And NFT Allegedly for a group of Spanish and Argentinian business people, with promotional help from the players, according to a El Periodico report.
The case was submitted earlier this year by 12 victims and is accusing Shirtum Europe SLU and its promoters of cheating investors from at least $ 3.4 million (€ 3 million) by selling non-functional NFTs bound to football-lying rights, with the company in-house, $ shi.
Among those mentioned in the complaint, World Cup winners “Papu” Gómez and Lucas Ocampos, ex-barca players Ivan Rakitić and Javier Saviola, as well as Nico Pareja and Alberto Moreno.
The alleged brains, Argentinian businessman David Rozenencwaig and Catalan entrepreneurs Manel Ángel Torras, his son Marc Alberto Torras and Manuel Morillas, are accused of a “complex business structure” in Spain and Andorra, designed to avoid taxes and prevent personal liability.
The complaint includes 13 expert reports and a financial analysis by professor Prosper Lamothe for the top economy, which describes the structure of the company as intentionally opaque and tax -evasive.
The NFTs were marketed as exclusive digital collection objects, some priced at more than $ 513 (€ 450), but were never made tradable or supported by a functioning platform.
Shirtum is said to have used players’ reputation to build credibility and present them as “founders” and public ambassadors, according to the complaint cited by Local report.
In March 2022, Shirtum claimed that it had suffered two massive crypto thefts and was the victim of a hack, but no police report was never submitted.
In the meantime, researchers say that funds were being transferred for personal use, and the shirtum platform was quietly left.
The football players served as promotional faces for the company, with “Papu” Gómez – a good friend of the alleged leader David Rozencwaig – after promoting themselves, other players recruit themselves as a company “founder” before systematically deleted all shirtum evidence from social media in addition to his fellow players.
Big names, big losses
“This Shirtum Europe case really shows how difficult things can get with crypto and NFTs,” said Mohith Agadi, founder of decentralized facts control systemfact protocol, said Decrypt. “People see big names as football stars and think it is a safe gamble, but that trust can be exploited.”
The shirtum scandal points to the volatile relationship between Spanish football and crypto partnerships.
A Prohibition of gambling advertising Implemented in 2021 prevents La Liga teams from matching such deals with gambling companies, creating a sponsor vacuum that crypto companies are in a hurry to fill.
However, this crypto -omhelzing has proved problematic.
Lots of La Liga clubs are left behind “Standards, complaints and an experience to forget” after partnerships with crypto sponsors, where various Spanish clubs now sue their crypto partners for unpaid sponsor rates.
As Agadi noted: “Blockchain is great for following transactions, but scammers also use it to falsify legitimacy.”
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair