Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano report that the Rome prosecutors office has sent documents to their counterparts in Milan, Bergamo and Modena, urging investigation into deals involving Roma and Inter.
In April, a notification concluding the investigation on capital gains was sent to Roma, stemming from the broader case that previously involved Juventus. This investigation had already highlighted the Leonardo Spinazzola-Lorenzo Pellegrini exchange between Juventus and Roma. On April 26th, documents regarding other transactions made by Roma were forwarded to various prosecutors, including those in Milan.
According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, prosecutors are scrutinizing specific market operations between Roma and Inter Milan during the summer of 2018. These include the transfer of Radja Nainggolan to Inter and Davide Santon and Nicolò Zaniolo to Roma. According to the prosecutors, Nainggolan, who was valued at €38 million , generated a capital gain of €31.9 million. However, the “effective” capital gain should have been €24 million. Meanwhile, Zaniolo was valued at €4.5 million and Santon at a surprisingly high €9.5 million.
The prosecutors assert that these transactions were conducted “with the aim of recording a higher capital gain than the actual one.” The investigation records include the testimony of a Roma executive, Giorgio Francia, who admitted raising accounting concerns about the deal to his then-superior, Guido Fienga.
Further doubts are documented in another part of the report sent to the authorities. When the Friedkin Group took over Roma, the new owners requested a detailed report on the club’s past transactions, especially in light of the Juventus investigation. This report contains extensive details about the three players mentioned, including email exchanges with Inter executive Massimo Cosentino.
The ball is now in the prosecutors’ court to decide whether to conduct further investigations.
