French investigators raided offices of the French soccer league and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners on Tuesday as part of an investigation into possible corruption and embezzlement related to an investment deal, a judicial official said.
The searches took place amid an investigation that opened in July into charges of misappropriation of public funds, active and passive corruption of a public official and illegal taking of interest, the judicial official told The Associated Press.
The person with direct knowledge of the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing case publicly.
Under its current president, Vincent Labrune, the French soccer league approved in 2022 an investment deal with CVC as part of a new commercial subsidiary in charge of marketing media rights. CVC invested 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in return for a 13% stake in the new commercial subsidiary managing TV rights, valuing the entire capital of the commercial subsidiary at 11.5 billion euros.
The CVC deal was sealed after French soccer came close to bankruptcy following the collapse of a major broadcast rights deal with Mediapro.
The investigation was launched after the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office received in November 2023 a complaint from a group called AC! Anticorruption. Their lawsuit focused on a possible misappropriation of public funds when the French league’s subsidiary company was created following the partial transfer of capital to CVC.
CVC declined to comment on the case and the French league said in a statement that it is cooperating with the investigation “in total transparency.”
“The investigation, which is taking place in the greatest serenity, will confirm that the action taken by the League has always been guided by a deep commitment to French soccer, in full compliance with the rules in force,” the statement said.
The deal with Mediapro should have been worth more than 4 billion euros ($4.8 billion) over four years for the top two tiers but collapsed after only four months. After its collapse, the league was forced to ask the government to set up a financial rescue plan amid huge revenue losses exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Looking for a cash injection to help clubs, French league president Vincent Labrune found an agreement with CVC Capital Partners.
The deal was supported by a large majority of clubs but has been challenged by Le Havre, which launched a lawsuit against the French league because it was unhappy with the distribution of the money.
Twenty clubs were playing in the elite back then — compared to 18 now — with more than 1.1 billion euros to be shared between professional clubs in the top two divisions. Of this sum, Paris Saint-Germain was granted the largest share, 200 million euros to be disbursed in three installments. Marseille and Lyon were entitled to 90 million euros each, and 80 million euros going to Lille, Monaco, Nice and Rennes.
The remaining 13 Ligue 1 clubs were given 33 million euros each.
Ligue 2 teams were granted 3 million euros each, provided they remained in the second tier of French soccer for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 seasons. This was not the case for Le Havre, which was promoted to the elite at the end of the 2023 season and thus missed out on half of the amount it was entitled to, receiving only 1.5 million euros. And once back in the top flight, the club said it was not entitled to half of the 33 million euros allocation earmarked for so-called small Ligue 1 clubs, as it was not in the elite during the 2021-2022 season.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
FILE - Vincent Labrune, head of the French soccer league, leaves the French soccer federation in Paris, France, Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
SEDAVI, Spain (AP) — Francisco Murgui went out to try to salvage his motorbike when the water started to rise.
He never came back.
One week after catastrophic flooding devasted eastern Spain, María Murgui still holds out hope that her father is alive and among the unknown number of the missing.
“He was like many people in town who went out to get their car or motorbike to safety,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press. “The flash flood caught him outside, and he had to cling to a tree in order to escape drowning. He called us to tell us he was fine, that we shouldn’t worry.”
But when María set out into the streets of Sedaví to try to rescue him from the water washing away everything in its path, he was nowhere to be found.
“He held up until 1 in the morning,” she said. “By 2, I went outside with a neighbor and a rope to try to locate him. But we couldn’t find him. And since then, we haven’t heard anything about him.”
At least 218 have been confirmed dead after a deluge caused by heavy rains late on Oct. 29 and the next morning swamped entire communities, mostly in Spain's Valencia region. Most people were caught off guard. Regional authorities have been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to mobile phones some two hours after the disaster had started.
Authorities have yet to any give an estimate of the missing. Spanish state broadcaster RTVE shows a steady stream of appeals by people searching for family members.
María Murgui herself has posted a missing person’s message on social media with a photo of her father, a 57-year-old retiree.
“This is like riding a rollercoaster. Sometimes I feel very bad and sometimes I feel better. I try to stay positive,” she said. “This truly is madness. We don’t know what else to do. Neither does anybody else in town.”
Meanwhile, the gargantuan recovery efforts in Sedaví and dozens of other communities slowly moved forward.
The central government on Tuesday approved a 10.6-billion-euro ($11.6-billion) relief package for 78 communities where at least one person has died the floods. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez compared it to the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The package includes direct payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros to owners of damaged homes, and financial aid for businesses and municipal governments.
“We have a lot of work left to do, and we know it,” Sánchez said.
Sánchez said he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief, saying “it is time for the European Union to help.”
The floods have left behind post-apocalyptic scenes.
In town after town, streets are still covered with thick brown mud and mounds of ruined belongings, clumps of rotting vegetation and wrecked vehicles. A stench arises from the muck.
In many places, people still face shortages of basic goods, and lines form at impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing out food. Water is running again but authorities say it is not fit for drinking.
The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined. It is feared that inside some of the vehicles that were washed away or trapped in underground garages there could be bodies waiting to be recovered.
Thousands of soldiers are working with firefighters and police reinforcements in the immense emergency response. Officers and troops are searching in destroyed homes, and in the countless cars strewn across highways and streets or lodged in the mud in canals and gorges.
Authorities are worried about other health problems in the aftermath of the deadliest natural disaster in Spain's recent history. They have urged people to get tetanus shots, to treat any wounds to prevent infections and to clean the mud from their skin. Many people wear face masks.
Thousands of volunteers are helping out, but frustration over the crisis management boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and other objects at Spain’s royals, Sánchez and regional officials. It was their first visit to the epicenter of the flood damage.
Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.
As the search for bodies continues, a Civil Guard looks though binoculars as a drone flies nearby at the mouth of the Poyo ravine in the La Albufera natural lake near Puerto de Catarroja, Valencia on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
A steering wheels lies on a bed of bamboo by the port of Catarroja on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Sister Kelly walks after working as volunteer cleaning houses affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A woman walks through the street in an area affected by floods in Sedavi, Spain, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People clean a house of mud in an area affected by floods in Sedavi, Spain, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A drone operated by the Spanish Parachute Squadron (EZAPAC) flies over the area in the search for bodies after floods in Barranco del Poyo on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Soldiers from the Spanish Parachute Squadron (EZAPAC) work in their search for bodies after floods in Barranco del Poyo on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Residents wait for public transportation in an area, affected by floods, in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People walk through a street with piled furniture and rubbish on the sides in an area, affected by floods, in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A crucifix hangs near the water level marker in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A painting hangs near the water level marker in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Wet clothes hangs on a window near the water level marker in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A person walks through a street with piled furniture and rubbish on the sides, in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A person walks through a street with piled furniture and rubbish on the sides in an area affected by floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
