Money laundering through football

 

Source: 

https://www.zigram.tech/article/uks-football-and-money-laundering/

前言：由於政治體制相同，俄羅斯和中國的富商作風相似，都喜歡收購財困的著名足球會（提示：艾巴莫域治+車路士，許家印+廣州恆大）。那個足球會因此成為走資或洗黑錢的管道，而財困的英國足球會是熱門選擇。英語傳媒用 Sportswashing 形容這種手法，操作方法如下：

• Find a European football team that is struggling financing.

• Joining the club and earn credibility by making short-term investments or donations.

• Purchasing the club and use it as a front for an opaque holding company network controlled by offshore shell corporations.

• Laundering the money by purchasing TV rights, betting on games, and overpriced players on the transfer market.

Source:

https://www.sanctionscanner.com/blog/money-laundering-through-football-820

外國金融罪案專家指出，著名足球會跟老牌報章、電視台或電影公司一樣，都是富商眼中的 Super Toy，跟超級遊艇或私人飛機無分別。對於來自前共產主義國家的寡頭富商來說，足球會可以用來逃稅、走資、轉移資產、清洗黑錢、提升老闆的社會地位，當作談判籌碼跟官府交易，即是一物多用的 Super Toy。富商是否白手套？自己想。以下提供的參考資料從不同的角度解釋這種現象，以及提供真實個案，讓讀者明白來龍去脈。

延伸閱讀／參考資料：

How Money Is Laundered Through Football

As the World Cup approaches, Sumsub is here to detail the serious threat posed by money laundering and how the international community can mitigate it.

Alisa Abramova

Senior Content Manager

https://sumsub.com/blog/money-laundering-football/

Excerpt: How football is exploited by criminals

There are many ways that illicit funds can make their way into football, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimating that about $140 billion is laundered through the sport per year. This includes:

Purchase and sale of football clubs:

Those seeking to launder their funds can do so by acquiring an entire football club. Indeed, many clubs are  managed by amateurs, which have poor finances management and possibly debts, and therefore can easily be acquired by dubious investors, according to the OECD.

Player trades

Just like with other common money laundering methods, including art or real estate, the worth of a player can be greatly overvalued.

In 2014, the Bucharest Court of Appeal in Romania handed down jail sentences for eight executives and management officials (including former FC owners and agents), who were found guilty of tax evasion and money laundering involving the transfer of football players between international football clubs. As a result, Romania lost 1.7m euros ($1.6m) in taxes.

In 2020, it was reported that several agents organized fake transfers through a Cyprus football club, Apollon, to evade taxes and launder money.

Football agents

Of course, inflated agent fees are one way to clean dirty money. However, agents can also be extremely influential in football clubs, with close connections to key members. From such positions of power, agents can also be involved in more complex ML schemes.

In 2019 a corrupt football agent claimed he had “thanked” the former Manchester United manager for fixing a match by giving him a £30K ($34.7K) Rolex watch.

Player image rights

Contracts for the rights to use players’ images can get lucrative, which leads to various forms of financial misconduct: 

• Money laundering through sales of media rights, and merchandise.

• Players may not declare part of the money received.

• The money received settles in a tax haven.

• Forgery of ticket sales

Amateur clubs—and the ticket sales companies working with them—are especially prone to this. In comparison to major clubs, authorities are less inclined to check the number of spectators entering an amateur club’s stadium, which makes it possible to launder money through fake ticket sales.

How is money laundered through football?

15th of May 2023

by Ruben Constantino David

https://pideeco.be/articles/how-is-money-laundered-through-football-soccer/

Excerpt: Why is football an attractive target for money laundering?

As the FATF report "Money Laundering through the Football Sector" emphasizes, football is the ideal candidate for money laundering among sports, simply because it is the most popular in the world, with 250 million players, 38 million registered players, and 5 million officials and referees. Around 1 billion people watched the World Cup alone, making it the most watched sports competition in the entire globe.

As a result, it is a very profitable industry that gets funding from a variety of sources. Due to the lack of reinforced international anti-money laundering regulations in the sports sector, some investors with less-than-legitimate backgrounds have been able to fund football clubs, frequently with the intention of becoming well-known and forming relationships with players.

Clubs are reluctant to reveal any alleged money laundering activities since doing so could harm the sport's reputation.

Money laundering is simpler to do in this industry due to the high cash flows and minimal entrance barriers. An estimated $140 billion is laundered through football each year according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

What are the consequences of money laundering in football?

Money laundering in football has several repercussions. It may compromise football's reputation for fair play. This is because it's possible that the money being used to pay for match-fixing and corruption comes from illegal enterprises like drug trafficking or organized crime. As a result, football's reputation may suffer and the trust of fans for the game may decline.

120M€ are the estimated annual proceeds from betting-related match-fixing.

Teams may also suffer large financial losses from money laundering. For instance, a club may be subject to fines, penalties, and other monetary consequences if it is discovered that it engaged in money laundering. Also, supporters may be less likely to watch games or buy products if they lose faith in the sport, which might be detrimental to the financial health of football clubs and leagues.

The consequences of money laundering in football can even extend beyond the sport itself and have a negative impact on society. For example, money laundering can help fund other illegal activities, such as human trafficking, terrorism, and drug trafficking, which can harm communities and individuals.

Money Laundering Through Football

Sanction Scanner (27 September 2024)

Team Sanction Scanner

https://www.sanctionscanner.com/blog/money-laundering-through-football-820

Excerpt: Blog / Money Laundering Through Football

Thanks to its endless popularity, football has transformed into a global economic powerhouse, channeling vast sums of money through player transfers, sponsorships, and broadcasting deals. However, where there is a flow of money, the potential for illicit activities is present. Numerous individuals and entities have cleverly harnessed the extensive financial framework of the sport to legitimize their unlawful gains, turning illegal money indistinguishable from legally acquired assets.

How to Launder Money Through Football?

Money laundering in football involves intricate techniques to hide the source of illicitly obtained money. A typical approach is to manipulate player transfers. By inflating the price paid for a player during a transfer, criminals can make their illegal money seem legitimate. They sneak their dirty funds into the transfer, creating a seemingly lawful financial record. The extra money, paid beyond the player's actual worth, is then channeled back to the criminals via complex routes, effectively laundering the money while making it look like a proper football deal.

Sponsorship agreements also offer an undercover route for money laundering. Criminals might establish fake companies or intermediaries that appear as sponsors for football clubs or events. These fake sponsors then pour their dirty money into the legitimate football system, making it hard for authorities to track the money's source. These transactions blur the line between real sponsorship and money laundering, putting the sport at risk of financial deceit. Understanding these techniques is essential to protect the football sector’s reputation and integrity.

Why is Football Particularly Vulnerable to Money Laundering?

Football's vulnerability to money laundering and illicit financial activities is a pressing concern.

One of the notable frustrations is the lack of transparency surrounding the cases, such as tax evasion related to player signings and image rights, which leaves room for speculation. Furthermore, the risk of football clubs being taken over by individuals with dubious characters and financial backgrounds echoes the longstanding fears of fans. Football clubs' deep-rooted connection within local communities makes them particularly susceptible to exploitation, as they can become vehicles for money laundering.

Football's cherished status within local communities, coupled with its financial complexities, continues to make it a fertile ground for illicit financial activities, demanding vigilant oversight and action.

Fraudulent Connections of Football Clubs

Fraudulent connections extend to various aspects of football, including players, fans, club officials, and even external stakeholders. In many cases, the desire for personal gain, combined with the lack of robust anti-fraud controls has created an environment ripe for fraudulent activities.

Famous Football Money Laundering Scandals

The FIFA Scandal

In 2015, FIFA, the international football governing body, became embroiled in a corruption scandal following the indictment of several top FIFA executives by the US Department of Justice. This scandal eventually resulted in the downfall of two of football's most powerful figures, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini, who were both handed eight-year bans from any football-related activities by FIFA's ethics committee.

Swiss law enforcement, acting on the request of the United States, conducted a high-profile raid at a luxurious hotel in Zurich, leading to the apprehension of seven FIFA executives. This operation marked the culmination of a thorough FBI inquiry that had been scrutinizing FIFA's dealings for three years. Later in December of the same year, an additional 16 officials faced charges. These charges included various forms of fraudulent activities, including allegations of bribes and money laundering amounting to well over $200 million.

（推介原因：這篇文章解釋如何利用足球會洗黑錢，也提到國際足球總會的貪污醜聞。）

 

Money Laundering through the Football Sector (July 2009)

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Methodsandtrends/Moneylaunderingthroughthefootballsector.html

Excerpt: The FATF has just completed a study to determine what makes the football sector attractive to criminals. Why look at football? It is by far the largest sport in the world – more than 250 million people play – and the FIFA World Cup final in 2006, for example, attracted over 1 billion viewers. Despite the rapid growth and high visibility of the football sector, however, football’s regulatory structure has not yet caught up with some of the risks that come with these changes.

The FATF report examines the sector in economic and social terms and provides case examples identifying areas that could be exploited by those who want to invest illegal money into football. In preparing this analysis, the authors engaged with some of the major sports organisations, such as FIFA, UEFA and the International Olympic Committee, in addition to relevant experts from FATF and non-FATF member countries.

The goal of this FATF report is to draw attention to some of the risks facing the football sector in particular – and the sports industry in general – to misuse by criminals so that government policy makers, law enforcement, the financial sector and sports regulatory authorities can better understand and begin dealing with this problem.

（推介原因：FATF 是一個負責制定反洗錢法規的國際組織，這份研究報告解釋為何足球比賽成為洗黑錢管道，並指出執法部門應該如何應對。）

The FATF

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/the-fatf.html

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) leads global action to tackle money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing. The 40-member body sets international standards to ensure national authorities can effectively go after illicit funds linked to drugs trafficking, the illicit arms trade, cyber fraud and other serious crimes.

The FATF's decision-making body, the FATF Plenary, meets three times per year and holds countries to account if they do not comply with the Standards. If a country repeatedly fails to implement FATF Standards then it can be named a Jurisdiction under Increased Monitoring or a High Risk Jurisdiction. These are often externally referred to as “the grey and black lists”. The FATF was established in 1989 and is based in Paris.

（推介原因：FATF 的宗旨和運作。）

Money Laundering in Football: The Not So Beautiful Game?

Kathryn Westmore

RUSI (25 January 2024)

https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/money-laundering-football-not-so-beautiful-game

New EU measures will bring professional football clubs into the scope of anti-money laundering laws. How successful will this be? And should the UK follow suit?

In May 2015, US federal prosecutors charged nine senior executives associated with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. It was alleged they had received bribes of more than $150 million in relation to the awarding of media and marketing rights for some of the biggest football games in the world. The revelations, and the further scandals that have plagued FIFA, revealed the murky underbelly of the so-called beautiful game.

Football is the ‘richest sport in the world’, with an estimated net worth of $600 billion (£470 billion). In 2019, the European Commission identified professional football as an ‘obvious candidate’ for money laundering and deriving illegal income. According to a report from Europol, there are close links between organised crime groups and sports corruption, with betting-related match-fixing creating a steady stream of criminal income. For organised criminals, ‘football remains the most targeted and manipulated sport’. Despite the apparent endemic corruption and illicit funds flowing through the game, the European Commission concluded – in a wonderfully understated fashion – that the sector’s legal framework was ‘inadequate’ to manage the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Parking the Bus

Nearly a decade on from the corruption scandal that rocked FIFA, the EU is attempting to clean up professional football. After intense negotiations, the recently approved anti-money laundering (AML) package will, for the first time, bring high-level professional football clubs, football agents and European football associations into the scope of the EU’s AML framework. Recognising that this may be a significant change for the sector, the new rules have a five-year implementation period, and member states are able to exclude football clubs and agents from their national AML regulations if they consider them to be low-risk.

There are a multitude of ways that money can be laundered through football. Back in 2009, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international anti-financial crime standard-setter, warned that the proceeds of criminal activities could be funnelled through financial transactions including the purchase of clubs, the transfer of players, betting activities, image rights, and sponsorship and marketing arrangements. Not much has changed in the last 15 years. Corruption also remains rife in football: in October 2023, it was announced that Spanish football giants Barcelona and the club’s president were under investigation for bribing the Spanish football federation's refereeing committee.

The EU’s new rules will require in-scope clubs and agents to assess their AML risks and put in place mitigating procedures, including Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and ongoing monitoring, as well as obliging them report suspicious transactions. While it remains to be seen exactly how these requirements will be implemented both by clubs and by member states, the EU is clearly hoping to shore up the defences of European football.

Big Man Up Front

Not just a haven for the proceeds of crime, football has long been seen as a weapon of soft power. From the 1934 World Cup, held in Mussolini’s Italy, to the more recent staging of the tournament in Russia and Qatar, aligning one’s country on the world stage with FIFA’s values of fair play, fighting against discrimination and racism, and protecting human rights can be an effective propaganda tool. Kleptocratic wealth has also found a home in professional football: following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich （艾巴莫域治）was sanctioned by the UK government, forcing him to sell Chelsea FC （車路士）after 19 years of ownership. During the course of his ownership, Abramovich spent over £2 billion on players and managers. It is also alleged that Everton FC received more than £400 million from companies connected to oligarch Alisher Usmanov between 2018 and 2022, when sanctions were also imposed on Usmanov.

Amid allegations of ‘sportswashing’, some regimes have ploughed incredible sums of money into professional football. Investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has seen the Saudi Pro League become one of the highest-spending leagues in the world, attracting global – albeit fading – superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mané. In 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo become the world’s highest-paid athlete, signing a contract with Riyadh-based Al Nassr worth £3.4 million a week. In 2021, PIF also bought Newcastle United for £300 million, leading Amnesty International to call for the Premier League to revise its tests for the suitability of owners and directors of clubs. Newcastle United are just one of 15 teams in the Premier League this season who have majority owners from outside the UK. Fans of Reading FC（雷丁足球俱樂部）, who currently play in the third tier of English football but were a Premier League club a decade ago, are watching as the club is ‘dying before fans’ eyes’ as a result of the financial mismanagement of the club under its current Chinese owner, Dai Yongge （戴永革）. European clubs have also benefited from huge investments from overseas: Qatar Sports Investment, a subsidiary of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, bought Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, flooding its benches with talent and allowing it to dominate French football (although the club has been investigated several times for breaches of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules).

A Game of Two Halves

While the EU looks to address the issue of dirty money in football via its AML regulations, questions remain as to whether the UK will follow suit. According to Deloitte’s 2023 Annual Review of Football Finance, revenues for the European football market grew to €29.5 billion in the 2020/21 season. The Premier League is at the top of the list, generating £5.5 billion that year.

As the richest and most-watched football league in the world, the Premier League – and, to some extent, the other tiers of English and Scottish football – is an attractive target. In December 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Nigerian businessman, Dozy Mmobuosi, in relation to a ‘staggering’ fraud. Nine months earlier, Mmobuosi was close to buying Sheffield United, then in the second tier of English football but now a Premier League club, for £100 million until the deal fell apart. A 2021 investigation by Al Jazeera showed how easily English football clubs could be bought by criminals. Going undercover, investigators made contact with a middleman who described how he could, for a fee, ‘hide a criminal’s money and identity behind offshore trusts and submit fraudulent due-diligence reports to English football authorities’.

Questions have also been raised about the source of the many billions in sponsorship revenue that Premier League clubs receive. A recent report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime highlighted that, in January 2023, eight Premier League football clubs were ‘partnered with Asian-facing betting companies’. All eight partner companies have UK gambling licences through the same unnamed company which has been linked to Alvin Chau Cheok-wa （周焯華，綽號：洗米華，太陽城集團創辦人）, convicted in January 2023 of over 100 charges relating to illegal betting. He is alleged to lead an organised crime group operating across Southeast Asia involved in underground banking, money laundering and tax evasion.

While football continues to attract and generate many billions of pounds a year across the world, imposing AML regulations seems like a worthy but ultimately fruitless exercise.

（推介原因：俄羅斯和中國的富商都喜歡收購財困的英國足球會，這篇文章舉出兩個例子：俄羅斯的艾巴莫域治和中國的戴永革。內文也提到洗米華跟八間英超足球會的關係。至於洗米華的背景資料，請上網。）

 

維基百科：戴永革

https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E6%88%B4%E6%B0%B8%E9%9D%A9

節錄 : 戴永革，生於1968年，是人和商業集團執行董事和英國雷丁足球俱樂部的所有人。1991 年，戴永革創立人和商業，當時名為哈爾濱人和公司，主營零售和房地產租賃業務。2008 年，戴永革帶領人和商業在港股上市。此時正值次貸危機，人和通過降低發行價格成功上市。2011 年，戴永革將人和足球俱樂部遷往貴州，同時還獲得茅台 3 年 1.5 億元冠名贊助。2014 年，經濟觀察網報道人和商業自 2012 年起介入大連實德集團有限公司的債務重組，此時實德集團除了位於北京，哈爾濱等地的地塊，還有華匯人壽、鐵嶺銀行、大連銀行等公司的股權。

2017 年，戴永革收購雷丁俱樂部 75% 的股權。2023 年，雷丁足球俱樂部因拖欠員工薪水被英國足球聯盟懲罰，作為球隊老闆的所有人的戴永革也被聯盟警告。

（推介原因：戴永革的背景資料。）

維基百科：人和商業

https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E4%BA%BA%E5%92%8C%E5%95%86%E6%A5%AD

節錄 : 中國地利集團「China Dili Group」 （原名：人和商業控股，港交所：1387）是一家在香港交易所上市的零售業公司。其在中國發展、租賃和管理地下購物商場業務。在 1991 年，由戴永革創立本公司，在哈爾濱建了由防空洞改建成地下商場，屬於新興行業，到 2005 年，在廣州又再建立地下商場。直至 2008 年成為香港上市重點。也是首家地下商場上市公司之一。其非執行董事戴秀麗，是戴永革姊姊，被英國《星期日泰晤士報》登上 2011 年英國女性富豪榜第 7 位。2019 年 6 月 19 日（ 星期三 ）上午九時正起，人和商業改名為中國地利集團「China Dili Group」。

（推介原因：同上。）

十年過去，中國的宏大足球計劃還有望實現嗎？

BBC 中文網

2025 年 3 月 21 日

https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/articles/c1mny15n1jdo/trad

節錄 : 如今只有兩名中國投資者仍全面控制英格蘭的職業俱樂部——復星國際（Fosun International）持有狼隊（Wolverhampton Wanderers），而戴永革（Dai Yongge）持有雷丁隊，但後者因財務危機等而陷入困境。

此外，中超俱樂部也在為過去瘋狂轉會支出付出代價。在 2011 至 2019 年間曾經八次奪得國內冠軍、兩度問鼎亞洲冠軍聯賽的廣州恆大，因為無法償還債務，在今年 1 月被迫清算。

「許多企業家將中國的足球戰略視為轉移資金出境的藉口。」高博士表示。「中國的資本管制非常嚴格，因此他們抓住這個機會，利用國家政策來進行投資。」「但很快，在短短兩三年內，政府就出手干預，表示『不，我們不希望你們這麼做』，於是關閉了這條外部投資的通道。」隨著中國投資者在歐洲足球界的影響力減弱，以及男子國家隊在場上仍然無法取得突破，許多人開始質疑習近平的足球夢是否已經落空。

（推介原因：BBC 的相關報導。）

Money Laundering Techniques - February 2025

Baptiste Forestier

2025-03-04

https://www.linkedin.com/comm/pulse/money-laundering-techniques-february-2025-forestier-cams-iajke?otpToken=MTMwNjFjZTcxNjI2Y2FjY2JkMjQwNGVkNDIxZmU3YjM4NmNlZDI0OTkwYTc4NzYxNzRjNjAwNmM0NzVlNThmYmY2ZDdkZmJiNjFkOWI5YzIwMGE4ZTJhZDQzZGJmMTdmNjk5NTYzN2I1ZWY1YmFiYzhhOTQ4MSwxLDE%3D

On February's menu we have:

Money laundering in football: Unmasking the dirty deals behind the beautiful game by Chris Dalby

Football’s global appeal and multi-billion-pound revenue streams have long made it a stage for dazzling performances on the pitch. But behind the scenes, the sport’s financial labyrinth has increasingly become a playground for money launderers. At the Sports and Crime Briefing—the primary investigative media at the intersection of organized crime and sport—we’ve uncovered a series of disturbing cases that reveal just how vulnerable football is to illicit financial flows. In this in-depth exploration, we detail the nitty-gritty of several notorious schemes and the specific vulnerabilities they exploit.

1. The Manchester City/8xbet Scandal: A Sponsorship Nightmare

One of the most alarming examples in recent memory is the 8xbet scandal involving Manchester City. Here’s how it unfolded:

Lax Sponsor Vetting: 8xbet, a relatively obscure betting company with murky credentials, managed to secure a major sponsorship deal in 2022 with Manchester City—one of the most successful clubs in the world. The root issue was a glaring gap in “Know Your Sponsor” (KYS) protocols. Despite the stakes, due diligence on the sponsor’s background was insufficient, allowing a firm with convincing ties to scams and human trafficking to slip through.

Exploited Vulnerabilities: The 8xbet case highlights how a lack of robust KYS regulations can enable companies operating under dubious circumstances to move money through some of the world’s foremost soccer clubs. By sponsoring a high-profile club, such companies gain a veneer of legitimacy that masks the true source of their funds. In this instance, 8xbet’s questionable licensing—often linked to jurisdictions with weak oversight—provided a loophole that ultimately allowed illicit cash flows to mix with legitimate sports revenue. After the inner details of this partnership was revealed, and 8xbet received negative attention for its alleged links to organised crime syndicates in Southeast Asia, it folded its UK operations in 2024. But the commercial conditions that allowed it to sponsor Manchester City remain in place. Manchester City is not an isolated case. Similar sponsorships with murky Chinese brands have been signed with Chelsea, Leicester City, Monaco, AS Roma, Juventus, and many more top clubs across Europe.

2. The PCC Strategy: Organized Crime Buying Clubs

While the 8xbet scandal centers on sponsorships, another dangerous trend is the active attempt by organized crime groups to acquire football clubs outright. The largest drug gang in Brazil, the First Capital Command (PCC), is at the forefront of this approach, recently caught trying to buy clubs in Portugal.

Targeting Vulnerable Clubs: The PCC has been linked to efforts aimed at purchasing financially troubled clubs—often in lower divisions or regions with historically lax oversight. By acquiring a controlling stake, criminal organizations can embed themselves within a club’s financial structure and use it as a conduit for laundering illicit funds.

How It Works: Once in control, these groups can manipulate club finances through inflated transfer fees and other dubious transactions. The acquisition itself acts as a legitimizing cover, making it difficult for regulators to distinguish between legitimate investments and money laundering schemes. This method exploits the inherent vulnerability of clubs that lack stringent internal financial controls and due diligence processes. The PCC-linked purchases used sophisticated methods to hide the origin of the funds, using a famous football agent as a cover and making the commercial approach through a holding company in London. However, once one deal was made, the scheme was fumbled as the club’s financial staff became suspicious when the funds were transferred from various accounts in different countries. Approaches to other clubs were made in cash, similarly leading to refusals.

3. The Marset Case: Inflated Transfers and Cash-Heavy Schemes

Another illustrative example comes from Greece, where Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset attempted to use second-division Trikala FC as a front for money laundering:

The Operation Unfolded: In September 2021, a group of Paraguayan players and technical staff arrived at Trikala FC, a club already mired in controversy due to its historical links to corruption. These individuals were not just ordinary recruits—they were part of a carefully orchestrated plan to channel dirty money. Lavish cash transactions were made on-site: coaches distributed large sums in cash for equipment, wages, and even personal expenses.

Inflated Transfers and Straw Men: Marset’s network exploited the club’s financial fragility by orchestrating transfers at inflated prices. The actual market value of these players was grossly exaggerated, turning routine transactions into elaborate money laundering schemes. Additionally, the use of straw men and shell companies in these deals further obscured the true source of the funds, creating a labyrinth that even seasoned investigators find challenging to unravel.

Exploited Vulnerabilities: Lower-division clubs like Trikala FC often lack the robust financial controls seen in elite leagues. Their limited resources and reduced regulatory scrutiny make them ideal targets for such schemes. The Marset case thus serves as a textbook example of how inflated transfers, when combined with a cash-heavy operation, can be used to clean money originating from drug trafficking.

The Trikala case was undone when Marset was arrested in Dubai on his way to Greece for travelling under a false passport. He was released and is still on the run, and his long history of using football clubs to cover up criminal activity may soon continue.

4. Regulatory Response: Football in the new EU AML Directive

In response to these high-profile scandals, the European Union has included football clubs and agents as part of its forthcoming 6th AML Directive. This new framework represents a long negotiation, shaped by a history of corruption in football. Here’s what you need to know:

Expanded Scope: Traditionally, anti-money laundering measures focused on banks and financial institutions. However, the growing recognition of sports as a money laundering vehicle prompted regulators to expand the framework. The directive now covers football clubs, agents, and sponsors by mandating comprehensive KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYS procedures. Holding Clubs and Agents Accountable: The directive will name clubs and agents as obliged entities, meaning they must verify the legitimacy of all financial partners, monitor transactions continuously, and report suspicious activities. It also holds agents responsible for ensuring that any deals or transfers adhere to stringent financial standards. This is designed to close the gaps that allowed cases like 8xbet and Marset’s operation to flourish.

Historical Context and Challenges: Cases of bribery and corruption have continued to the shortcomings of existing oversight mechanisms. The EU’s new directive is an attempt to address these persistent vulnerabilities. However, while the enhanced measures mark significant progress, critics warn that the complexity of modern money laundering—especially schemes involving cross-border transfers and shell companies—may still outpace regulatory efforts.

Conclusion

From the high-profile sponsorship debacle involving Manchester City and 8xbet to the aggressive club-buying strategies of the PCC and Marset’s inflated transfers at Trikala FC - the methods of laundering money in football are as diverse as they are sophisticated. Each technique exploits specific vulnerabilities: weak sponsor verification, inadequate internal controls, fragmented oversight, and the inherent complexity of football’s financial ecosystem.

The EU’s new AML Directive represents a significant step forward, aiming to hold clubs, agents, and sponsors accountable with robust KYC and KYS measures. Yet, without a dedicated, independent regulator focused solely on the sports industry, these measures may not be enough to plug all the gaps.

（推介原因：作者是金融罪案專家，內文提到多種使用足球會洗黑錢的手法以及經典個案。）

 

Premier League club structures carry money laundering risks, study finds

Some ownerships have legal entities in several countries

Manchester United, Villa and Spurs among clubs named

Paul MacInnes

The Guardian (23 Jan 2025)

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jan/23/premier-league-club-structures-carry-money-laundering-risks-study-finds

Excerpt: The ownership structures of Premier League clubs could enable money laundering and other financial crimes, academic research has found. In a study published in the journal Sport in Society, criminologists from Manchester University looked at the ownership structures of each top-flight side in the 2023-24 season.

They observed a prevalence of complex set-ups, with Manchester United having 13 legal entities within their ownership chain and Aston Villa’s structure featuring companies registered in four overseas territories. The researchers said they were unable to fully identify the owners of a majority of clubs.

“Twelve of the 20 clubs have at least 10% of their holdings which – due to secrecy provisions – cannot be formally traced back to their beneficial owners,” said Dr Pete Duncan, one of the authors.

“For many of these clubs – including Premier League giants Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur – the entirety of clubs’ shareholdings cannot be formally verified. We are not suggesting that the publicly stated beneficial owners are, in fact, merely front persons obscuring the true beneficial ownership of these clubs. We are simply pointing out that the conditions of these clubs’ ownership structures enable that possibility.”

The research looked at the workings of clubs according to three key criteria: the presence of unnecessarily complex ownership structures; entities within the ownership structure located in places perceived to be “suppliers of secrecy” (such as offshore tax havens or the US state of Delaware); and an absence of information or data on all “beneficial owners” (defined as shareholders and investors with at least a 10% stake in a club).

Analysing these three conditions, researchers found that structures used by clubs commonly “combine multiple enabling conditions” for “illicit” behaviour. They also observe that “the combined use of multiple secrecy jurisdictions and opaque entity types that ultimately result in the obscuring of true beneficial ownership is concerning”.

The findings were based only on publicly available information and do not take in any changes made this season. The authors point out that such structures are not evidence of wrongdoing in themselves. “Our objective is not to determine whether illicit finances are indeed being channelled through the [Premier League],” they write, “but rather to highlight existing conditions that have the power to enable the misuse of the football industry for this purpose by motivated actors”.

The authors argue for greater transparency and a new approach towards the owners’ and directors’ test (ODT) taken by those looking to acquire “control” of a Premier League club or a minimum 25% of its voting rights. The study calls on the proposed independent regulator for English football to deliver a test that adds “enhanced due diligence and source-of-funds checks for current and prospective owners” while “structures which make use of multiple enabling conditions should be flagged as particularly high risk for misuse for the management of illicit finances”.

（推介原因：這篇外媒報導從法律角度出發，指出足球會的股權結構非常複雜，牽涉離岸公司，方便幕後玩家隱藏身份及清洗黑錢。有提到英國著名足球會曼聯，即是香港球迷熟悉的「紅魔鬼」。）

英超

曼聯班主稱削開支避免今年破產　

承認錯誤續約滕哈格

Am730 (2025-03-11)

https://www.am730.com.hk/%E9%AB%94%E8%82%B2/%E8%8B%B1%E8%B6%85-%E6%9B%BC%E8%81%AF%E7%8F%AD%E4%B8%BB%E7%A8%B1%E5%89%8A%E9%96%8B%E6%94%AF%E9%81%BF%E5%85%8D%E4%BB%8A%E5%B9%B4%E7%A0%B4%E7%94%A2-%E6%89%BF%E8%AA%8D%E9%8C%AF%E8%AA%A4%E7%BA%8C%E7%B4%84%E6%BB%95%E5%93%88%E6%A0%BC/540267

節錄 : 曼聯班主拉特克里夫爵士（Jim Ratcliffe）近日在英力士（Ineos）倫敦辦公室接受訪問，這名 72 歲商人指曼聯財政狀況欠佳，如果再不改變，有機會「聖誕節前就會破產」的地步。

「簡單來說，曼聯過去 7 年來的支出一直高於收入，今年也不例外。」他解釋，「長期下來，這種情況會讓球隊陷入極為艱難的處境。而這個難關，正好在今年年底達到臨界點。」「如果不大幅削減開支，到了 2025 年底，曼聯將完全耗盡現金，資金鏈將斷裂。這是我們首次公開承認這一點，但這就是事實。」

自從拉特克里夫去年收購曼聯 28% 股份以來，英力士集團便大力推動削減成本的措施，包括 2 次大規模裁員，又減免費午餐，屢次成為負面新聞焦點。

UK’s Football And Money Laundering

ZIGRAM

July 8, 2025

https://www.zigram.tech/article/uks-football-and-money-laundering/

Intro: Football’s global riches make it a tempting target for financial crime. As one analyst notes, professional football – with its $470 billion industry value – is an “obvious candidate” for money laundering. Criminologists and regulators warn that complex cross-border transfers, multi-layered club ownership and opaque sponsorship deals all create opportunities for illicit money to flow through clubs. Transparency International cautions that fans “should be angry because … the English football system [is] vulnerable to funds from dubious origins and unsuitable owners”. In recent years, UK clubs from Premier League giants to lower-league sides have repeatedly made headlines in financial probes, exposing schemes like inflated transfer deals, offshore loan networks and tax-avoidance tricks. This investigation traces how those mechanisms work – and how authorities are responding.

 

维基百科：楊家誠

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A5%8A%E5%AE%B6%E8%AA%A0

節錄 : 2009 年 8 月 21 日，宣佈透過旗下市公司泓鋒國際，提出以 7,700 萬英鎊，全面收購伯明罕，作價每股300便士，比前一日收市價 148.5 便士，有 55% 溢價，並先付出 2300 萬英鎊保證金以示收購誠意。泓鋒國際其後易名為伯明罕環球控股。

2011 年 2 月英格蘭聯賽盃決賽，伯明罕以 2－1 爆冷擊敗阿仙奴，奪得冠軍，楊家誠成為首位奪得英格蘭聯賽盃的華人班主。

2011 年 5 月 22 日於英格蘭足球超級聯賽最後一輪賽事，以 1－2 不敵熱刺，寓告護級失敗，來屆將要降落英格蘭足球冠軍聯賽作賽。楊家誠旗下的上市公司伯明罕環球控股翌日發出盈利預警，股價急跌八成，收市報報 0.094 元。

2011 年 6 月 29 日，楊家誠因涉嫌洗黑錢，遭香港警方拘捕，6 月 30 日於東區法院提堂，案件轉介區域法院審理。區域法院於同年 12 月 7 日預審，楊家誠透過代表律師表示會認罪。

2014 年 3 月 3 日，楊家誠被裁定洗黑錢 872 億港元罪成，還柙至周五判刑，最高可被判入獄 17年，控方亦將申請充公他懷疑涉案黑錢的 240 億資產。2014 年 3 月 7 日，楊家誠因洗黑錢 872 億元罪成而被判囚 6 年。

2019 年 1 月 26 日，楊家誠刑滿出獄。

（推介原因：香港個案。）

 

维基百科：羅傑承

https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%BE%85%E5%82%91%E6%89%BF

節錄 : 羅傑承（英語：Steven Lo Kit Sing，1959 年 6 月 8 日—），港澳企業家，博美投資集團有限公司創辦人及董事會主席，投資於港澳地產、娛樂、飲食及體育事業，他於 1992 年至 1994 年擔任香港甲組足球聯賽南華足球隊主任，於 2006 年再度出任至 2014 年；他亦為前香港足球總會副主席暨董事及香港中華業餘體育協會會長。

生平: 羅傑承在澳門出生，叔公乃維他奶創辦人羅桂祥，父親是澳門維他奶的經理，祖籍廣東梅縣。羅傑承早年在澳門生活，就讀粵華中學，直至 1977 年中學畢業後才前往香港發展個人事業，與友人開設金城企業有限公司。於 1990 年代初，羅傑承曾經和黃百鳴合組永高電影有限公司，數年後因意見不合而退出永高，永高其後在 1990 年代中清盤結業。1995 年 10 月 18 日晚上，羅傑承與女友陳加玲途經尖沙嘴時，被數名持刀兇徒斬傷，身中三刀，手筋被斬斷，送院治理後並無大礙。羅傑承與梁芷珊於 2002 年 2 月 13 日在美國拉斯維加斯百樂宮酒店結婚，2003 年女兒羅樂桐出生。2018 年 2 月 14 日，羅傑承表示在 2017 年底已經與梁芷珊離婚。

南華足球會: 1992 年至 1994 年，首次出任香港甲組足球聯賽南華足球隊主任。2006 年，羅傑承應南華體育會會長許晉奎邀請，再次出任南華體育會足球部主任，帶領足球隊從前一屆的降班球隊搖身一變成為「三冠王」（香港甲組足球聯賽、高級組銀牌及足總盃三項賽事冠軍）。2007 年，南華足球隊成功衛冕香港甲組足球聯賽及奪得聯賽盃，成為「雙料冠軍」。2008 年，南華足球隊宣佈慶祝成立一百週年，並且成功達到香港甲組足球聯賽三連冠。2009 年，南華晉級亞洲足協盃四強，雖然最終無晉身決賽，惟益該年 10 月 21 日晚上進行的四強次回合賽事，創下香港大球場改建後非外隊表演賽的首次滿座紀錄。現時擔任香港中華業餘體育協會會長。

2014 年，羅傑承不再續任南華足主，一般相信與他涉及歐文龍貪污案並罪成有關。

天水圍飛馬: 羅傑承現時為香港超級足球聯賽球隊天水圍飛馬的班主。

（推介原因：香港個案。）

【港超聯】

飛馬終結 13 季頂級聯賽之旅　

羅傑承曾明言「最後一啖氣」

撰文：袁志浩

香港 01 (2021-08-02)

https://www.hk01.com/article/658591?utm_source=01articlecopy&utm_medium=referral

節錄 :香港足球總會今日（2 日）確認，已收到天水圍飛馬申請退出下季港超聯賽事。這支 2008 年成立落戶天水圍的球隊，近年由前南華班主羅傑承擔任會長，上季亦殺入聯賽爭標組，惟終究要終結 13 季頂級聯賽的旅程。

繼老牌球會愉園退出港超之後，由前南華班主羅傑承出任會長的天水圍飛馬亦棄戰下屆港超。足總確認飛馬已入信申請退賽；這支上季聯賽殿軍，季內曾因拖欠保險費被禁賽，季後又傳出拖欠職球員薪金至少 3 個月薪金。有球員接受其他傳媒訪問時透露，自己因此而「節衣縮食」。事實上，飛馬自完季後已停止更新任何資訊，對上一個 Facebook 帖文為今年 6 月 20 日。陣中守門員梁興傑、及守門員教練范俊業已離隊他投，卻久未傳出球隊組軍消息，棄戰早已有跡可尋。

羅傑承曾稱上季是「最後一啖氣」

羅傑承對上一次在足球活動公開亮相，是今年 6 月底的足總董事改選大會，他亦曾為傑志會長伍健、前足總主席康寶駒等助選，惟該名單最後全數敗選。這位曾將南華搞得有聲有色的港足人物，上季季初曾接受訪問，直言過去一季是「最後一啖氣」。他在飛馬季前發布會亦曾指，自己或不會再投資職業足球。羅傑承在 2018 年轉任飛馬會長，飛馬近年聯賽亦跌出前三，跟錦標無緣。去季港超因疫情停擺，飛馬當時選擇退出復賽，直至今季宣布回歸天水圍、植根元朗，重新使用「天水圍飛馬」為隊名，並贏得聯賽第 4，跟亞洲賽資格只差一步，惜已完成 13 季頂級聯賽的旅程。在飛馬退出之後，來屆港超聯只剩餘 6 隊角逐，惟消息指有區隊或招攬部份飛馬球員、加上向其他球會借用小將，加上失業球員組軍征戰港超。據稱足總同時會向甲組球會招手，務求令聯賽隊數維持在 8 隊。

（推介原因：香港個案。）

维基百科：天水圍飛馬足球會

https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E6%B0%B4%E5%9C%8D%E9%A3%9B%E9%A6%AC%E8%B6%B3%E7%90%83%E6%9C%83

天水圍飛馬（英文：TSW Pegasus FC），簡稱飛馬，係香港一支足球隊，2008 年喺元朗區成立，而家踢緊香港丙組聯賽。

歷史：天水圍飛馬喺 2008 年成立，以千萬巨型班進軍香港球壇，成為嗰季香港足球界嘅焦點。成立之初畀傳媒稱為「南華二隊」，因為有傳南華班主羅傑承出資籌組，佢老婆梁芷珊又係球會董事，加上球隊嘅推廣公司博美娛樂又係羅傑承旗下公司，加上有大量南華球員例如鄧景煌等轉投飛馬，種種跡象令傳言更為大眾所默同。

呢間足球會最初由王威信、鄧慶治等一眾元朗鄉紳擔任阿頭。2012 至 2015 年期間球會接受周焯華旗下企業太陽國際贊助，並改名做太陽飛馬。2015 年，梁芷珊喺周焯華手上重奪太陽飛馬，之後改名做香港飛馬，2020 年回復原本嘅名「天水圍飛馬」，並由萬芳冰室老細譚秉智（佢亦係香港賽馬會馬匹「逍遙自在」、「愛逍遙」、「騷哥利」、「天衣無縫」、「齊天大聖」、「逍遙人生」馬主）接任天水圍飛馬主席，2021 年再用番香港飛馬呢個名。

（推介原因：香港個案。）

维基百科：廣州足球俱樂部

https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E5%B9%BF%E5%B7%9E%E8%B6%B3%E7%90%83%E4%BF%B1%E4%B9%90%E9%83%A8

節錄 :廣州足球俱樂部（英語：Guangzhou Football Club），是中國廣州的一個足球俱樂部。球隊主場為廣州花都體育中心體育場。

其前身廣州足球隊成立於1954年6月，是中國第一支市級專業足球隊。2010 年 3 月 1 日，因恆大地產集團以一億元買斷廣州足球俱樂部全部股權，俱樂部更名為廣州恆大足球俱樂部。2014 年 7月 4 日，俱樂部獲阿里巴巴集團注資 12 億元人民幣，完成增資擴股後，俱樂部更名為廣州恆大淘寶足球俱樂部。2021 年賽季起，中國足協要求各球隊更改非企業性名稱，廣州恆大淘寶改稱為廣州足球俱樂部 ，簡稱「廣州隊」。

俱樂部歷史上，因贊助商及股東多次更迭，曾使用廣州太陽神、廣州吉利、廣州香雪、廣州日之泉、廣州醫藥、廣州恆大淘寶、廣州海印等名稱。俱樂部曾在 1992 年和 1994 年的甲 A 聯賽中奪得亞軍，但於 1998 年一度降入甲 B 聯賽，2007 年奪得中甲聯賽冠軍後重返中超聯賽。2010 年 2 月在中國足壇反賭風暴中被揭發曾在 2006 賽季參與打假球，雖然遭到降級處分，但同時俱樂部被恆大地產集團收購，而得以獲得龐大的資金大肆擴軍，在當賽季聯賽即奪得中甲聯賽冠軍重返中超。

2011 年，重返中超首季的廣州恆大就獲得當屆聯賽冠軍，是中國足球聯賽史上首隊在升上頂級聯賽第一年就奪冠的球隊。之後於整個 2010 年代，廣州恆大在母公司恆大集團的支持下成爲了中超班霸，共奪得了 8 次中國超級聯賽冠軍（2011 年-2017 年，2019 年），2 次中國足協盃冠軍（2012、2016 年），4次中國足協超級盃冠軍（2012、2016-2018 年），2 次亞洲足聯冠軍聯賽冠軍（2013、2015 年）與 2 次俱樂部世界盃殿軍（2013、2015 年），一度成爲亞洲最為成功、最具影響力的職業足球俱樂部之一。然而隨著恆大集團出現債務危機，2022 年只能以全華班角逐中超，結果提前一輪降級中甲。2025 年 1 月 6 日，因為未能完成債務清償，宣布解散。

（推介原因：中國個案。）

 

相關的文章： 

離岸中心（二）

2009 年 1 月 4 日

http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.hk/2009/01/blog-post_04.html

節錄：近年俄羅斯黑幫被英語傳媒冠名 The Communist Mafia（共產黨式黑手黨），他們在西方的影視作品中往往被描寫為十惡不赦的壞蛋。他們的影響力開始滲入國際體壇，例如：俄羅斯富豪、英超球隊車路士 (Chelsea) 的班主艾巴莫域治 (Roman Abramovich)，他的財產據說就來自賤價收購國有資產。有評論認為，俄羅斯黑幫既擁有全球網絡，又掌握了國防技術，威脅程度比正牌恐怖份子更大，論實力絕不遜於恐怖大亨拉登 (Osama Bin Laden)。

假如我是真的（三）

2018 年 8 月 4 日

https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2018/08/blog-post.html

節錄 : 有大陸媒體指上海比亞迪的內部爆發高層權力鬥爭，由此切入，以下是中國特色的陰謀論：其中一個派系試圖偷公司的錢，透過廣告合約把資金轉入關連人士或企業（廣告公司）的手上，再轉移至海外的小金庫，而李娟是這個派系的白手套。表面上，她沒有得益，因為她的回報是來自幕後主腦（的打賞），但是尚未成功便被敵對派系所揭發，於是上海比亞迪跟涉事的廣告公司（上海雨鴻）同時反口，而被利用的阿仙奴 (Arsenal) 則根本不知道發生了甚麼事（解釋：因為簽約的時候有比亞迪的真正高層出現，過程中也提供了內部資源）。

燒錢生意、湊客之道、中港足球

2014 年 6 月 10 日

http://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2014/06/blog-post_10.html

節錄 : 燒錢的生意，通常一物多用。跟客戶聯誼以外，也可以是變相的私人俱樂部（例如：香港足球總會）、自家品牌的宣傳工具（提示：精工、寶路華、黃創保、黃創山、時間廊）、跟當權者談判的籌碼（例如：明報、張曉卿、劉進圖）、利益輸送或交換的渠道，甚至可以是過數的戶口或洗黑錢的工具（例如：澳門賭場疊碼仔不乏電影公司老闆）。湊客之道，千奇百怪，但是離不開四個字：「投其所好」。既然只是工具，又或者是用來娛賓的歌姬舞女，燒錢的生意，死亡率高，不得善終，不是賣盤收場，便是關門大吉。管理上常見的問題，是大老闆無心經營，得過且過，又或者是外行領導內行，結果鬧出笑話（提示：王晶：老周電視台）。

英倫黑錢

2022 年 3 月 1 日

https://xiaoshousha.blogspot.com/2022/03/blog-post.html

節錄：英國傳媒的看法：中國人很可能繼俄羅斯人之後，利用英國的金融中心地位洗黑錢。英國的政府部門已經準備收緊移民政策及加強相關的反洗黑錢法規。今日的西方世界視俄羅斯和中國為敵人，有這種想法，不難理解（提示：英國和美國因應俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭，準備在金融層面對俄羅斯實施制裁）。如果屬實，那些來自俄羅斯和中國的黑錢，稍後是否又要轉移到另一個地方（傳統的避稅天堂還是網上的虛擬世界）？即是（洗黑錢的）老鼠繼續逃避御貓（監管機構）的追捕？貓捉老鼠（提示：Tom & Jerry），沒完沒了，就是這樣。