Arrested Russian citizen Dmitriy Rybolovlev is reportedly suspected of corruption, trading in influence. The investigation into these claims has been opened.
Russian billionaire, owner of the Monaco football club Dmitry Rybolovlev was detained on Tuesday by the Monaco law enforcement for questioning on the corruption case, Le Monde reported, citing sources.
According to the newspaper, Rybolovlev was detained in the morning. The state police have conducted a search in his house. According to the media, as of Tuesday evening, Rybolovlev remains in custody.
As Le Monde specified, Monaco’s prosecutor’s office suspects him of “corruption”, “trading in influence”, as well as complicity in these crimes.
Commenting on the report, the Russian Consulate General in Marseille told Sputnik that they had not yet received information about the detention of the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in Monaco.
The situation took place a few hours after the Champions League match between the clubs Monaco and Brugge.
Earlier, the Dutch edition nrc.nl reported, citing the documents received by Football Leaks, that Rybolovlev invested in the Monaco football club bypassing the financial fair play rules introduced by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to control club spending.
As the newspaper specified, several years ago the Monaco club signed a contract with the Dutch company Bernard de Ros, who promised the club revenues of 1.4 billion euros for ten years, which, according to a secret agreement, should be reimbursed to the company. Thus, Rybolovlev could continue to invest in the club without fear of sanctions from UEFA.