The affair takes a new turn. According to information from the Team that we are able to confirm, a search took place this Tuesday morning in the premises of the Professional Football League in Paris and those of its commercial subsidiary LFP media as part of the investigation opened into the conditions of the colossal financial agreement found between the CVC investment fund and the LFP in the summer of 2022. Several other searches took place at the same time at the home of the president of the LFP, Vincent Labrune, in Saint-Rémy- de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), but also in HVAC premises.
These searches are part of an investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), opened on suspicion of embezzlement of public funds, active and passive corruption of a public official and illegal taking of interest. The investigations are carried out by the research section of the Paris gendarmerie, which experienced no difficulty in carrying them out. According to our information, Vincent Labrune was present in the LFP offices at the time of the search. His phone(s) were taken from him to copy the data. Likewise, numerous documents were seized. The next phase of the investigation will now consist of analyzing these documents.
In this deal, which has since been heavily criticized, the LFP ceded 13.04% of its revenue to CVC for life in exchange for an initial check for 1.5 billion euros intended to replenish the coffers of Ligue 1 clubs. , severely affected at the time of the agreement by the consequences of Covid.
Still according to the Team, the investigation seeks to find out in what condition an envelope of 37.5 million was born, intended to compensate several players in the case once the deal was completed. With details of 12 million euros intended for the two banks, 5 million euros for the law firm and 8.5 million euros for certain leaders of the LFP, Labrune in the lead.
Last March, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) opened a preliminary investigation into this agreement with the LFP and the Luxembourg investment fund. The investigation was opened in particular on the charge of embezzlement of public funds after the AC (Anti Corruption) association filed a complaint against the commercial company of the League, which made it possible to set up this agreement, for embezzlement of funds public, wondering if “the Can the LFP definitively cede the commercial rights to French football?
