The scammer increased the pressure, demanding €250,000 more for his silence and threatening to report Barcelona to UEFA if they failed to pay.
A complex fraud plot involving Robert Lewandowski’s agency targeted Spanish powerhouse Barcelona.
A scammer successfully tricked the Catalan club into sending €1 million (1,834,290,000 naira) to a Cypriot bank account by pretending to be Lewandowski’s agent Pini Zahavi.
Barcelona’s Lewandowski lauds the Portugal star, saying, “Ronaldo is still amazing at 40.”
Under the pretense of paying a transfer-related charge, the scammer, posing as “Michael Hermanus Gerardus Demon,” coerced Barcelona into making the payment, according to a Cadena SER investigation.
Barcelona transferred the money to a Banc de Xipre account, but the transaction was reported as suspicious by the bank’s compliance division. Barcelona initially went forward with the payment even though it raised concerns with the bank’s compliance department.
Barcelona strengthened its anti-fraud procedures after confirming to Cadena SER that they were the victim of an attempted fraud.
The bank blocked the money, nevertheless, after Barcelona got in touch with Zahavi, who denied knowing anything about the scammer.
The scammer then increased the pressure, demanding an extra €250,000 for quiet and threatening to report Barcelona to UEFA if they did not pay.
Luckily, Barcelona was able to get some of the money back from the Cypriot bank. Although there is currently no criminal inquiry underway, the to stop such occurrences in the future, the club has reinforced its anti-fraud procedures and acknowledged the attempted scam.
Lewandowski, who cost €45 million to join the Catalan powerhouses from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022, has shown his worth on the field by scoring 71 goals in 106 games.
In other Sport news
Arteta had a statement regarding Arsenal’s disciplinary record: “It’s not that.”
Concerns regarding his team’s three red cards after eight Premier League games have been addressed by the Gunners manager.
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, has talked about his team’s disciplinary record, especially after his players were given three red cards in recent games.
Following Declan Rice’s dismissal from the Gunners against Brighton for delaying the restart and Leandro Trossard’s second yellow card in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City, William Saliba became the latest player to be sent off for the North London club in their 2-0 loss at Bournemouth.
With two each from Southampton and Nottingham Forest, the Gunners have more red cards than any other team in the Premier League.
When the Gunners play Liverpool on Sunday, they will have to play without their best center back.
The manager of Arsenal is adamant that these firings were the consequence of regrettable mistakes in judgment rather than acts of violence. Arteta emphasized that although his team aims to be competitive, he does not support violence.
The Spaniard told reporters on Monday, “I don’t think what happened in those three cases [the three red cards] has anything to do with aggression.”
“Everyone has an opinion, and we want to be fiercely competitive when we are. When we do that, it’s fantastic, but when it doesn’t work out, you lose and it’s part of the criticism.”
When Arsenal hosts Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, they will be looking to win back-to-back Champions League games.
Following a stalemate with Atalanta in the tournament’s opening round and a victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the beginning of October, the Gunners now have four points out of a possible six.
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