The orders came from the office of Delia Rodrigo, investigating judge number 4 of Majadahonda. The operation that was going to turn the Spanish Football Federation upside down was launched at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. It was not a random election: that day the management board had to call elections for the Federation: many of the people investigated were going to be in Las Rozas. The judge knew that the main target of the so-called ‘Operation Brody’, Luis Rubiales, was far from Spain, in the Dominican Republic, but his house would also be the subject of a search. One could not wait any longer, everything was ready and the Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard began its deployment.
20 hours of searches and several important detainees
Up to a dozen homes were searched throughout Wednesday by police authorities. Among them, the headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation, where the team was training at that time while the civil guards swarmed around them, and the house of Luis Rubiales, in Granada. The operation ended around three in the morning, with seven people detained, including Tomás González Cueto, external legal advisor to the RFEF and Rubiales’ trusted man; Pedro González Segura, director of legal services. Both testified this Friday and were released without charges. Among the crimes for which they are being investigated, influence peddling and unfair administration.
What is investigated?
It all stems from a complaint in 2022 by Miguel Galán, leader of the National Football Coaches Training Center (Cenafe), on behalf of the Transparency and Democracy in Sports Association. Galán was suing Rubiales and Gerard Piqué for the crimes of disloyal administration and corruption in business for the agreements signed to transfer the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. For that business, Piqué’s company, Kosmos (which has not been registered), earned 4 million euros a year; the federation chaired by Luis Rubiales, 40.
It’s not just those contracts that are under focus. Events held in China and various remodeling works in the Sevillian state of La Cartuja are also suspected.
A trail of millions of emails…
As reported this Friday morning by El País, researchers are tracking up to five million emails from the last six years on the servers with keywords such as ‘Super Cup’, ‘Arabia’ or ‘Nené’.
The organizer of parties with prostitutes
This last word corresponds to the former Granada soccer player Nené, a close friend of Rubiales, investment partner and who is also now with him in the Dominican Republic. His name already appeared a few years ago when he was accused of organizing parties with prostitutes in Salobreña for Rubiales. As a soccer player, he was a player for Granada and in professional life he prospered until he became CEO of several hotels. He is another of the key figures in this case.
2024-03-23 07:23:04
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