The revelations surrounding the management of PSG’s tax affairs continue. Mediapart claims this Sunday that the courts now have in their possession text messages proving the involvement of Gérald Darmanin, the Interior Minister who resigned at the time as Minister of Public Accounts.
These are messages that confirm information that has been leaking for several months. Mediapart revealed this Sunday that the courts now have text messages in their hands attesting to Gérald Darmanin’s involvement in PSG’s tax affairs.
Currently the resigned Minister of the Interior, the elected representative from the North was Minister of Public Accounts in 2017, when the Parisian club decided to bring in Neymar against the payment of his release clause at Barça to the tune of 222 million euros. Jérôme Fournel, then chief of staff to Gérald Darmanin and appointed chief of staff to the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Thursday, is also targeted by these revelations. A judicial investigation has been underway since February.
The investigation is still ongoing
While it was in the process of finalizing the arrival of Neymar in July 2017, PSG wanted to ensure that it would not have to pay taxes or contributions on this XXL transfer. The director of communications, Jean-Martial Ribes, then took over on behalf of the club president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, who was worried about securing political support. Through Hugues Renson, then vice-president of the National Assembly, he would have contacted Gérald Darmanin to secure his support.
After several exchanges, PSG would have had the good news through a letter and documents from the tax administration of Bercy and Urssaf Île-de-France to certify that there would be no taxes or contributions to pay on the operation. In January, searches took place at Bercy and Urssaf. Faced with the latest information, Gérald Darmanin and Jérôme Fournel did not wish to respond to Mediapart. Under investigation in this affair, Jean-Martial Ribes denied any irregularity.
