Updated October 7, 2020, 9:48 am
Around 200 officials searched the business premises of the DFB and private apartments of DFB officials on Wednesday. It is about the suspicion of tax evasion on income from the perimeter advertising of home international games.
Because of the suspicion of Tax evasion in particularly serious cases the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt / Main opened the premises of the German Football Association as well as private apartments of DFB officials searched.
A total of around 200 civil servants were involved in the measures in Hesse, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate, such as the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office communicated.
It is about income from the perimeter advertising of home international matches of the national soccer team in 2014 and 2015. Because of the suspicion of non-profit Corporate and business tax evasion, would be determined against six former or current leaders of the DFB.
“You are accused of deliberately incorrectly declaring income from perimeter advertising from home football matches for the national soccer team in 2014 and 2015 as income from asset management.” With this, the DFB escaped taxation of around 4.7 million euros.
DFB officials are said to have used unauthorized tax breaks
The authorities did not name the suspects. The president of the largest sports association in the world was Wolfgang Niersbach at the time, who was still not fully informed about this “Summer fairy tale” scandals resigned at the 2006 World Cup.
“According to the investigations so far, there is a suspicion that the accused knew about this tax inaccuracy, but chose them consciously in order to enable the DFB to benefit from a large tax advantage,” said Chief Public Prosecutor Nadja Niesen in a press release.
The DFB and its long-standing marketing agency Infront recently had their collaboration ended “amicably” after almost 40 years. This was justified with the results of a study by the consulting company Esecon.
In it allegations were made against Infront. Infront had rejected this and did not recognize the termination by the DFB. Until 2018, the agency was commissioned to procure perimeter advertising partners for national team games.
According to the investigation report from Esecon, the company was awarded the contract by the DFB in 2013, even though it was a competitor Have offered up to 18 million euros more. (dpa / afp / ank / thp)
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