In a dramatic case of attempted fraud, FC Barcelona nearly lost one million pounds after a scammer impersonated Pini Zahavi, the agent who facilitated Robert Lewandowski’s transfer to the club.
This was contained in a report on Thursday by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, after an investigation in collaboration with Cadena Ser, Der Standard, and other investigative partners.
According to the report, the payment was initiated by the football club but was blocked by a Cypriot bank before it could be completed, sources have revealed.
The incident began in July 2022, shortly after FC Barcelona signed Polish striker Robert Lewandowski in a high-profile deal with Bayern Munich, which involved a 45 million euro transfer fee.
Ten days later, the club received an email that appeared to come from Zahavi, requesting a one million euro payment be made to a bank account in Cyprus.
The email stated that the funds were to be sent to an account in the name of Michael Gerardus Hermanus Demon, who was described as a lawyer.
The request raised suspicions due to the email originating from an unfamiliar address and the payment being directed to a different recipient.
Despite these red flags, Barcelona reportedly initiated the transfer.
The payment came to light in the spring of 2023 after Que t’hi jugues, a radio show focused on FC Barcelona that airs on Spain’s Cadena Ser broadcaster, obtained a copy of the email and shared it with OCCRP and other investigative partners.
Four sources, including three with inside knowledge of FC Barcelona, confirmed that the club had proceeded with the transfer before the Bank of Cyprus flagged the transaction as suspicious.
A compliance officer at the bank blocked the payment, citing concerns over the legitimacy of the account.
The account holder, Demon, claimed his identity had been stolen and denied having any knowledge of the account or involvement in the payment request.
He told reporters that he did not possess a bank account in Cyprus.
“I don’t know anything about this and I don’t have a bank account in Cyprus. Unfortunately, I was a victim of ID fraud. ID was stolen/lost sometime in 2022,” he said.
Zahavi later confirmed to reporters that he was unaware of the payment request and that a fake email had been sent in his name to defraud the club.
He credited a Barcelona director for quickly reaching out to him for verification, which helped prevent the club from completing the fraudulent payment.
FC Barcelona acknowledged the incident but did not file a formal complaint with the Catalan police.
A club spokesperson told OCCRP that no money was lost, as the transaction was blocked in time.
The Bank of Cyprus defended its customer-verification process, maintaining that it thoroughly validates the authenticity of documents used to open accounts.
Back in 2018, Italy’s Lazio fell for an email scam, paying two million euros to fraudsters who pretended to be the Dutch club Feyenoord following the transfer of defender Stefan de Vrij.
Kieran Maguire, the English author of ‘The Price of Football: Understanding Football Club Finance,’ told OCCRP that “there is so much money involved, and a lot of people who want a small slice of the pie.
“A small slice is still a lot of money.”
