Financial investigators search offices of the French football organization LFP and CVC Capital

PARIS:Financial investigators searched the offices of French professional football league LFP and private equity fund CVC Capital on Tuesday following an allegation of embezzlement of public funds, a judicial source said.

“Searches are currently underway, particularly at the offices of the Ligue de Football Professionnel and the CVC investment fund,” the source told Reuters.

“The searches are part of an investigation opened on July 16, 2024 and transferred to the Paris Investigative Unit, on charges of embezzlement of public funds, active and passive bribery of a public official and illegal advocacy.”

In 2022, CVC Capital acquired a 13 percent stake worth 1.5 billion euros in the LFP’s newly established media rights company.

A French Senate report last week said “mistakes have been made in the management of French professional football in recent years”.

The source added on Tuesday: “These proceedings follow a complaint filed on November 27, 2023 by the ‘AC!’ association, alleging embezzlement of public funds in 2022 ‘in connection with the creation of the LFP1 subsidiary’.”

Michel Savin, who chaired the Senate report, had said that “while the usefulness of the CVC deal for the clubs in the long term remains to be demonstrated, given the dividend to be paid for life, its importance for the management of the LFP is clear immediately and without any future consideration”.

“The LFP is cooperating with the judicial authorities to provide all information necessary for the ongoing investigation, in full transparency,” the LFP said in a statement.

“The investigation, which is being conducted in the utmost serenity, will confirm that the League’s actions have always been guided by a deep commitment to French football, in full compliance with the rules in force.”

A CVC spokesperson in Paris had no immediate comment.