- The investigation concerns Napoli’s £74million deal with Lille for Victor Osimhen
- Napoli offloaded four players for just over £17m as part of the deal back in 2020
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Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis has been placed under investigation on suspicion of false accounting, according to reports in Italy.
The investigation concerns Napoli’s £74million signing of Victor Osimhen, who joined the Serie A giants from French side Lille in July 2020.
In order to lure the Nigerian to Naples, the club offloaded four players for just over £17m – approximately a quarter of Osimhen’s total transfer fee – and it is suspected that their wages were overvalued to an effort to inflate capital gains.
As reported by several Italian outlets including La Repubblica and Sky Sports Italia, the Rome Prosecutor has now placed De Laurentiis under investigation for alleged false accounting.
In acquiring Osimhen, Napoli sent back-up goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis to Lille along with three other players from their academy.
Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis (pictured) has been placed under investigation on suspicion of false accounting and balance sheet fraud, according to several reports in Italy
The investigation concerns Napoli’s £74m signing of Victor Osimhen (right), who joined the Serie A giants from French side Lille in July 2020, with claims the chief ‘inflated capital gains’
Italy’s Financial Police first gathered documents showing that potential balance sheet fraud had taken place and went on to inform Naples’ Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Osimhen has emerged a key player for Napoli since his arrival in 2020 and guided the Italian giants to the Serie A title last season, netting 26 league goals in 32 appearances.
He attracted interest from several top clubs including Manchester United during the summer transfer window, but Napoli’s chiefs ultimately managed to hold on to the superstar by reportedly placing a £150m price tag on the striker’s shoulders.
Napoli have started their Serie A title defence slowly this term, winning just two of their five opening matches of the season.