France’s financial prosecutor (PNF) announced on Tuesday that it “opened a preliminary investigation into tax evasion and fraud” by football players, coaches and agents following the “Football Leaks” revelations, according to LE PARISIEN. The PNF said, “Following the publication, from Dec. 9-12, of a series of articles related to the ‘Football Leaks,’ the national financial prosecutor decided on Dec. 12 to open a preliminary investigation ... concerning French tax residents.” The articles published on Dec. 9 “notably concern” two Paris St. Germain players: Javier Pastore and Angel Di Maria. The two Argentines have allegedly “diverted a portion of their income through tax havens” (LE PARISIEN, 12/20). BLOOMBERG's Panja & Sebag reported France is the "latest country to investigate possible tax avoidance" by footballers, coaches and their managers following the leak of financial information published by media organizations across Europe. The probe is run by a law enforcement unit "specializing in financial and tax offenses." Mediapart, a French group that has been publishing data distributed by the Football Leaks website, said that ManU’s "Paul Pogba, the world’s most expensive player, has offshore bank accounts." His agent, Mino Raiola, also named in the documents, described the information as "inaccurate" (BLOOMBERG, 12/20).
