Furlani and Gazidis under investigation with AC Milan accused of false ownership: details

Guardia di Finanza have raided AC Milan offices today confiscating documents. Furlani and Gazidis investigated while doubts cast on AC Milan real ownership. 

Quite distressing news emerged from Casa Milan today. La Repubblica reports of searches carried out on the AC Milan headquarters by a police unit of Guardia di Finanza. Later it was revealed that AC Milan current CEO Giorgio Furlani and former CEO Ivan Gazidis were officially under investigation. The charges are serious and could have severe percussions for the club if found true.

Furlani and Gazidis are being investigated by Milan Prosecutor’s Office for “exposing material facts that were untrue and concealing with fraudulent means, in whole or in part, facts that should have been communicated… or omitting communications“. The two are suspected of obstructing the Italian federation from supervising the ownership of the club. Two unnamed Luxembourg executives (related to AC Milan’s holding company) are also under investigation for the same charge. Basically AC Milan are accused of still being controlled by Elliott and the Singer family with RedBird and Cardinale serving as a façade.

Milan, buyer and seller have the same address in Delaware

The analysis of the documentation acquired has convinced the investigators that there are “well-founded doubts about the real owner of Milan”, after the sale to RedBird Capital on 31 August 2022. And perhaps more than any other, there is an element that casts shadow on the ownership. In fact, RedBird or administrator Gerry Cardinale were not in charge of the purchasing company. Instead it was Rb Fc Holding Genepar Llc, which is based in the same US address as two companies that are majority shareholders of Redblack who was an extension of the Elliott fund. The address is in Delaware, an American tax haven.

But it is not the only circumstance that has made the investigators suspicious. In the resolution approving the May 2022 quarterly report sent to the FIGC there was no mention of the fact that only the day before the majority shareholder had signed a preliminary sale agreement with the RedBird fund vehicle. Furthermore, the parts in which a minority shareholder (the representative of the Blusky company) read a communication in which he asked the president of Milan if there were ongoing negotiations for the sale of the club had been deleted from the meeting minutes.

Negotiations with Saudi Arabia funds confirmed

Furthermore additional documents have been confiscated that confirm that AC Milan are in negotiations with Saudi Arabia investors to sell the club as reported by acmilaninfo.com since December. According to an investor presentation document RedBird are set to drop their share of the club to 58.2% if the interested investor would replay 80% of the vendor loan of around €600 million that RedBird owes to Elliott.

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