The case for which Rubiales has now been arrested concerns a deal from 2019, when, as president of the Spanish Football Federation, he sold the matches in the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia for 44 million euros. The Super Cup has been played in Arab stadiums since 2020. Justice says it has evidence that Rubiales and people close to him made millions from the deal. Rubiales is said to have invested that money in hotels in the Dominican Republic in order to launder the millions. In addition to corruption and fraud, Rubiales is also suspected by the Justice Department of membership of a criminal organization.
‘It’s my savings’
Rubiales denies everything. Shortly before he boarded the plane to Madrid, he gave an interview in the Dominican Republic to Ana Pastor, one of Spain’s best-known journalists. In it he says he can refute all accusations. He says in the interview that he has worked hard and saved a lot in his life and that he has invested the money he earned and saved in hotels.
In the interview, the former football boss says: “Should the chairman of the RFEF live in a bubble outside society? If tomorrow a journalist goes to a country and meets a friend who has hotels and says: ‘Hey, here you can invest.’ .. That is what faith is, the most normal thing in the world.”
Two charges
What makes the situation more serious for Rubiales is that he now has two cases pending. Just last week, he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for the unwanted kiss at the Women’s World Cup and the pressure he subsequently put on player Jennifer Hermoso to withdraw the charges. He also talks about the case surrounding the unwanted kiss in the interview in the Dominican Republic. He calls statements made by Jennifer Hermoso about the case ‘manipulative’.
Two weeks ago, the police raided the headquarters of the RFEF football association and several people’s homes. One of the searches was in Granada, at Rubiales’ home. There, the police discovered that he was not at home, but had been staying in the Dominican Republic since the end of February. He is said to be in the process of buying a house there, where he would like to move once the lawsuit surrounding the kiss at the World Cup was over.
Other known suspects
There are more well-known suspects in the case surrounding the multi-million fraud with the SuperCup, including Gerard Piqué, former FC Barcelona player and the ex of singer Shakira.
Piqué was a mediator in the conclusion of the agreement between the football association and Saudi Arabia.
Tags: Exfootball boss Rubiales arrested suspicion multimilliondollar fraud
