The Complaint by Two Businessmen from Alicante Leads to Investigation of Six Former Sevilla FC Footballers for Cryptocurrency Fraud

La demanda interpuesta por dos empresarios de Alicante ha derivado en una investigación judicial que implica a 17 personas, entre ellas seis exjugadores del Sevilla FC. El Juzgado de Instrucción 5 de Barcelona ha abierto diligencias por el 'Caso Shirtum'.

In 2021, two businessmen from Alicante filed a complaint, claiming to be victims of an alleged one million euro cryptocurrency fraud, as confirmed by their legal firm to Europa Press.

The Barcelona court has launched an investigation into the 'Shirtum Case' following a lawsuit over this alleged cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (NFT) fraud, targeting the 17 individuals involved.

Despite not being the masterminds or the main culprits, several former footballers linked to Sevilla FC, including Alejandro 'Papu' Gómez, Ivan Rakitic, Lucas Ocampos, Nico Pareja, Alberto Moreno, and Javier Saviola, have also been accused.

The lawsuit, as outlined by lawyer Ricardo Oliva León from the Algoritmo Legal law firm, identifies Manuel Ángel T.P. and his son Marc T.G., Manuel M.P., David R., and their company, Shirtum Europa S.L.U., as the alleged masterminds, along with 'Papu' Gómez and his wife.

In this context, the complaint states that the initial parties embarked on creating a digital application aimed at offering the purchase and sale of non-fungible tokens related to football players' performances, seeking financial support from "well-known players" for this purpose.

It was at this point, according to the lawyer, that 'Papu' Gómez, a friend or acquaintance of one of them, "introduced" the other footballers allegedly involved, after which the business promoters presented them as "founding partners" of the activity, projecting the image that these athletes "endorsed" the project.

Subsequently, as summarized by the lawyer, the alleged intellectual authors of the supposed scheme expanded their search for funding by offering potential investors the acquisition of "easily convertible and widely used" cryptocurrencies, in exchange for obtaining a proprietary cryptocurrency of the activity, known as the "Shi token".

However, according to the plaintiffs' lawyer, the business promoters never created the promised digital application despite receiving around "three million euros" in BNB-type cryptocurrencies from investors, an amount that was also not officially recorded, as highlighted by Ricardo Oliva, and always allegedly.

The lawsuit would argue that the players participated in the events by promoting the allegedly fraudulent business, considering that up to eleven alleged crimes were committed; because the investors did not receive anything promised, and the company Shirtum Europa was ultimately emptied.

The complaint also claims that the athletes not only promoted the project but actively participated in its dissemination. For now, according to the lawyer, Barcelona's Court of Instruction No. 5 has summoned Manuel Ángel T.P. and his son on the 16th of this month, and the following day Manuel M.P. and David R., as part of these preliminary proceedings.