Last week, a new chapter opened in the dispute between Elliott and Blue Skye Financial Partners regarding the sale of AC Milan from the American fund to Gerry Cardinale's RedBird. Salvatore Cerchione and Gianluca D'Avanzo's company contests the failure to recognize the compensation for the sale that was owed to them and for keeping the partners in the dark about the sale of the Rossoneri club.
These accusations were firmly rejected by Elliott, who responded by suing Blue Skye in Luxembourg, accusing them of crimes including blackmail, extortion, and false fraudulent statements to support their legal actions against the sale.
As reported in today's edition of Il Corriere della Sera, court documents reveal that the examining judge in Luxembourg seized 3.1 million euros from the company Rossoneri Sport at Société Générale Luxembourg (6 million euros in April, of which 2.9 million euros were later returned), one of the vehicles used by Elliott to manage Milan since they redeemed it from Li Yonghong in 2018.
According to the case presented in Luxembourg, Elliott claims that Blue Skye made false and defamatory accusations in order to obtain concessions beyond their contractual rights. According to the fund's allegations, these constitute the crimes of blackmail and extortion. Furthermore, according to the American fund, Blue Skye knowingly filed misleading documents, initiating proceedings with the intent to deceive the Luxembourg judges in order to obtain a decision in their favor, a decision that, according to Elliott, they would not have otherwise obtained.
The documents also reveal accusations of breaches of fiduciary duties towards Giovanni Caslini (formerly on the board of Rossoneri Sport Investment, the vehicle that controlled Milan and whose 100% was in turn controlled by Project Redblack, of which 4.27% was in the hands of Blue Skye) and towards the managing partners of Blue Skye, Salvatore Cerchione and Gianluca D'Avanzo.
In a statement to Reuters, Blue Skye described Elliott's claim as "an unfounded unilateral action" and an "attempt to bypass" the pending legal proceedings initiated by Blue Skye. Following the sale of Milan to RedBird, Blue Skye had accused Elliott of violating its rights by engaging in months of "closed-door" negotiations to sell to Gerry Cardinale's company. Elliott, who acquired the Italian club in 2018, repeatedly referred to Blue Skye's legal actions as "frivolous and harassing," believing that they have no reasonable basis in fact or law.
Source: Calcio E Finanza
