Crypto: Six football stars accused of scam!

A scam in NFT shakes the world of professional football. In Spain, six high-level players, including an Argentinian world champion and two ex-stars of FC Barcelona, ​​are targeted by a judicial investigation. Accused of having lent their image to a fraud -like blockchain project, they would have helped trap thousands of investors. The case, with complex financial ramifications, provides information on possible excesses when sports notoriety and crypto technologies intertwine without safeguards.

A scam of several million euros in the heart of Barcelona

While many crypto exchanges like Binance warn the resurgence of scams linked to false tokens, a judicial inquiry open by the Barcelona court provides an alleged fraud that involves NFT linked to the world of football.

Twelve complaints were filed in Spainbut according to estimates, the number of victims could count in the thousands.

Indeed, the company Shirtum Europa Slu, specializing in the sale of NFT representing professional football players, which were supposed to be able to be exchanged via an application … has never seen the light of day.

The facts noted by the investigators are precise and particularly serious:

• NFT sold at more than € 450, based on videos and images of known players;
• A platform announced, but never launched, which leaves investors without the possibility of using their assets;
• Funds diverted for personal purposes, according to the accusation file;
• A estimate of damage which exceeds 3 million euroswith an impact probably wider;
• A formal question of the company Shirtum and its subsidiary Andorrane, as well as its leaders.

The latter, David Rozencwaig, Manel Ángel Torras, Marc Alberto Torras and Manuel Morillas, are prosecuted for eleven charges, whose fraud, embezzlement, false advertising, market manipulation and money laundering.

Investigators believe that they have set up a sophisticated operation, which uses the notoriety of athletes to credible a technically hollow project, the purpose of which would have been purely speculative.

Football stars in the judicial turmoil

Among the names cited in the complaint are well -known personalities of international football: Alejandro Papu Gómez, world champion with Argentina, Javier Saviola and Ivan Rakitić, two former players of FC Barcelona, ​​as well as Lucas Ocampos, Alberto Moreno and Nico Pareja.

If investigators do not consider them as the brains of the operation, their active role in promoting the Shirtum project is pointed out. The promoters of Shirtum benefited from the collaboration of footballers, led by Papu Gómez, whose friendship with David Rozencwaig, one of the founders of the company, is underlined.

Footballers would have lent their image and participated in promotional videos to legitimize the platform, which facilitated the confidence of investors. However, the promised application has never been launched, and the bought NFTs are today without concrete value or utility.

If the players defend themselves from having had a decision -making role in the management of the company, their involvement challenges, in particular on the border between promotional collaboration and moral co -responsibility.

The case could lead to heavy legal consequences for Shirtum leaders, but it causes deep questions about the use of notoriety in the crypto universe. While European regulators are preparing to strengthen the rules surrounding the advertising of cryptos, this case could be jurisprudence on the duty of diligence of influencers, including sports, in the promotion of financial products. As the hearings advance, the Shirtum scandal may well become a case of school of possible drifts in the era of the web3.