AC Milan headquarters raided amid investigation into 2022 sale to RedBird investment fund

After many searches on their offices, Italian investigative authorities begin to investigate AC Milan, a well-known Serie A football team. The investigation of the club's 2022 sale to the American investment firm RedBird includes these measures.

These kinds of police interventions have grown commonplace in Italian football, particularly involving Juventus, amid larger disputes about player transfer earnings in the professional game.

The club's current CEO Giorgio Furlani and his predecessor Ivan Gazidis were the targets of the most recent raid, which was carried out on Tuesday at Milan's offices close to the famous San Siro stadium.

While Milan is not on the list of suspects that Milanese prosecutors are focusing on, the probe focuses on claims that RedBird paid Elliott Management 1.2 billion euros to acquire the seven-time European champions.

According to reports, papers were sought not just from the club's offices but also from Gazidis and Furlani's homes by Italy's financial police. The two are suspected of hiding from COVISOC, the Italian Football Federation's oversight authority, that Elliott was still in charge of Milan after it was sold to RedBird.

2018 saw Elliott purchase Milan from Chinese entrepreneur Li Yonghong. In response to the accusations, RedBird said that it was the owner of 99.93 percent of Milan's shares, with individual Italian stockholders holding the remaining portion.

Elliott provided a vendor loan, which is typical in private equity deals, to enable the sale to RedBird. Elliott is permitted under the loan conditions to propose two nominees for Milan's board of directors, which is already composed of Gordon Singer and former staff members.

RedBird disputes reports that it had talks about controlling the club with investors, including the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. As the inquiry progresses, Elliott and former minority stakeholder Blue Skye are engaged in multi-jurisdictional legal disputes over the deal.

The investigation comes at a critical time for Milan, which is pursuing plans for a new stadium in San Donato and discussing a refurbished San Siro with rival team Inter Milan.

In the sports arena, Milan's efforts in the Europa League continue to show promise; going into their second-leg match in the round of 16, the team leads Slavia Prague 4–2.

Source: AFP