The investigation that has implicated Giorgio Furlani and Ivan Gazidis, along with two managers from Elliott, has been making headlines in the past few hours. The focus is on the ownership transfer of AC Milan from Elliott to RedBird, finalized on August 31, 2022, according to official documents.
The Milan Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation with related searches at Casa Milan and private residences to determine whether there is reason to believe that Elliott still maintains control of the club and that therefore Furlani and Gazidis, having signing power, lied to the authorities about the ownership of the Rossoneri club.
To clarify some uncertainties about the issue, lawyer Pierluigi Matera, a full professor of comparative law and former deputy attorney general of CONI, was interviewed this morning by Tuttosport.
Matera's words on the issue in general:
"First of all, I would like to emphasize a preliminary point: the so-called 'vendor loan' and the Luxembourg vehicles through which, in the summer of 2022, the club's transfer from Elliott to RedBird was completed represent a fairly typical way of operating in the world of finance. In the absence of the so-called 'truth deed,' or the concealed contract that is signed when carrying out a simulated sale, the prosecution will need other evidence. Some of the information that has emerged in these hours seems ephemeral to me: for example, the coincidence of the address in Delaware concerns the two funds in question as well as about 70% of the major American companies. The confirmation of certain figures in the transition from old to new management is already more suggestive, but I imagine that the Prosecutor's Office also has other evidence in hand."
