Turin preliminary investigations judge
(GIP) Ludovico Morello has written that he agreed with
prosecutors that there was "serious" evidence of wrongdoing
related to how the Serie A club handled player payments in 2020
and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Morello said he had denied prosecutors' requests last month
for restrictive measures to be imposed on former chairman Andrea
Agnelli and other people under investigation over the Turin
giant's accounts because he did not consider there to be a risk
of the crime being repeated.
Agnelli quit as chairman this week along with the rest of the
board amid a probe by Turin prosecutors into allegations that
the club presented false information to investors about its
accounts in recent years.
Sources said Wednesday that prosecutors have requested that
Agnelli and several other suspects be sent to trial.
Investigators are looking into allegations that the Serie A club
made secret salary payments after declaring that players had
agreed to take wage cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The judge said Juventus may have acted in "good faith" in
relation to another part of the probe regarding allegedly
inflated earnings from player transfers.
The accounts of the club, a listed company, have also come under
the scrutiny of Italian stock-market regulator Consob, and the
Italian Soccer Federation has opened a sporting probe into the
case.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
