Former President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales is reportedly suspected of using business interests in the Dominican Republic to hide funds gleaned from the RFEF.
Last week police raided RFEF headquarters in relation to alleged corruption and money laundering, making 5 arrests out of 7 warranted, and also raiding a number of properties. Five more are under investigation.
Rubiales, currently in the Dominican Republic, has denied any wrongdoing, and claimed he is willing to return to Spain upon request from a judge. According to Cadena SER, following a wire tap from the Anti-Corruption department, the authorities suspect that Rubiales may have received kickbacks from construction contracts handed out by the RFEF.
They allege that when a €5m contract was awarded to Gruconsa, amongst other deals, to renovate La Cartuja stadium in Sevilla, the same business also made payments to Dominican business Dismatec, which is linked to his close friend and business partner Nene. The suspicion is based in part upon the fact that the payments made from Gruconsa to Dismatec match payments made to Rubiales by Dismatec over the same period. It remains to be proven that Rubiales was responsible for the payments.
This is the second legal case facing Rubiales, after he was accused of sexual assault for kissing Jenni Hermoso without consent during Spain’s 2023 World Cup celebrations. That case is yet to be decided, but he was suspended by both the Minsitry for Sport and FIFA for his actions.
