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Just a couple days after it was reported that Fali Ramadani’s home had been raided by the Spanish police, the Spanish Civil Guard has revealed that Ramadani is a suspect in an ongoing investigation into several football agents, who are all accused of tax evasion and money laundering (ESPN).
Ramadani and his partner, former Serbian goalkeeper Nicola Danjanak, are the main suspects of a scheme to move over €10 million to Spain, where the money was used to purchase properties and yachts.
Ramadani’s alleged scheme
According to the investigation, Ramadani’s agency, Primus Sports Consultancy (formerly known as Lian Sports), kept tabs on promising Eastern European players and, as soon as they sparked interest from top European clubs, signed them to clubs that Ramadani and his partner themselves owned in Serbia and Cyprus, such as Apollon Limassol FC on Cyprus. Some players did not even play a single minute for those clubs.
They then sold the players on at a higher price, taking advantage of less strict tax laws of said countries. For that reason, and since Ramadani resides most of the time in Spain, the Spanish Tax Agency is charging the agent with tax evasion.
The transfers under investigation include Real Madrid’s Luka Jovic (formerly of Eintracht Frankfurt), whom Benfica bought from Apollon Limassol before sending him to Frankfurt. Atlético’s Stefan Savic and AS Monaco’s Stevan Jovetić and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Yevhen Konoplianka (formerly of Schalke) are other prominent players who were exploited in this way.
The investigation was launched on the basis of information revealed in 2016 by Football Leaks. Ramadani is set to appear in court on Thursday.
How the charges might affect Ramadani’s relationship with Leroy Sané and his potential transfer to Bayern Munich remains to be seen.