Authorities in France are investigating allegations that football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) received favorable tax treatment over Brazilian football star Neymar Jr’s 2017 transfer to the Qatar-owned club.
Anti-corruption officers raided France’s finance ministry earlier this week, according to reports, over suspicions politicians helped PSG to avoid paying a 40% tax on his record €222 million transfer deal to PSG, equalling €88 million.
The growing scandal, centered around Qatari-owned PSG and the French economy ministry, has already put pressure on Gérald Darmanin, a heavyweight in Emmanuel Macron’s government, who was budget minister at the time.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told Franceinfo that the raid, which happened Monday, was part of an ongoing investigation “in connection with the PSG” over suspected “bribery and influence peddling,” after investigative outlet Mediapart first reported it.
According to Mediapart, the French economy ministry gave PSG advice to get around existing tax rules, shortly after a meeting between the PSG then-director of communication Jean-Martial Ribes and Darmanin’s chief of staff.
France Unbowed’s Eric Coquerel, who chairs the financial committee of the French National Assembly, asked the French economy ministry to see the written note in which the fiscal administration reportedly reassured PSG that it would have to pay zero taxes on the deal.
