One million euros for a fake email - two and a half years ago, Robert Lewandowski moved from Bayern Munich to FC Barcelona. As research by "Der Spiegel" shows, a lot went wrong in this case.
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- When Robert Lewandowski was transferred to Barcelona, fraudsters tried to defraud the Catalan club of one million euros with a fake e-mail.
- Apparently, the Bank of Cyprus ultimately prevented the transfer as the identity of the account holder could not be verified.
- FC Barcelona denies that any money was transferred at all.
- The alleged fraudster Michael D. in turn claims to be the victim of identity theft.
Research by a team of reporters fromDer Spiegel, together with OCCRP, the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser and the Dutch platform Follow the Money, suggests that fraudsters used a simple scam to exploit Robert Lewandowski's transfer to FC Barcelona and defraud the Catalan club of one million euros in the process.
But what happened?
When news of the transfer in the summer of 2022 made the rounds in the international media, FC Barcelona received an email shortly afterwards from pini.zahavi.48@gmail.com with the subject line "Lewandowski commission" demanding one million euros. The money is part of the total commission and is to be transferred to the account of a lawyer named Michael D. at the Bank of Cyprus.
Pini Zahavi, a well-known and well-connected player consultant in the football business, is actually involved in the transfer and receives a large commission for it. According to media reports, this will amount to around 10 million euros. However, Michael D. is neither Lewandowski's lawyer nor his manager and is apparently a nobody in the football business.
But FC Barcelona doesn't realize this - and actually transfers one million euros to Michael D after a single e-mail. At least that's one version of the story.
Did the Bank of Cyprus save FC Barcelona?
According to the "Spiegel" report, a source familiar with the events in Cyprus reveals that Michael D. opened an account at the Bank of Cyprus shortly before the transfer. The million euros are actually transferred from Barcelona, but the bank does not accept the transfer because it becomes suspicious. Apparently, the identity of the account founder could not be verified, neither through a face-to-face meeting nor a video call - something that is standard procedure at the bank.
A second email from the fake Pini Zahavi from the same address asked the bank to carry out the transfer at the beginning of August 2022. Michael D. was an intermediary for "major football transfers". However, the Bank of Cyprus apparently ignored the email and still did not accept the payment. In October, it closes Michael D.'s account.
So did the Bank of Cyprus save FC Barcelona from a loss of millions? Possibly. According to the report, there is a second version of the story. The one from Catalonia.
When asked by the research team, FC Barcelona does not want to know anything about having sent money to a Michael D.. Although the e-mail is confirmed, the sender did not receive any money from Barcelona, they say. When asked whether the club had attempted to pay, however, the club remained silent.
Barcelona denies payment worth millions
It therefore remains unclear whether the million euros was actually transferred. The Catalan police have at least confirmed that FC Barcelona contacted them in this case. However, no charges have been filed, which is why the police have not opened an investigation.
Pini Zahavi himself confirmed to Der Spiegel that he had not sent the e-mail in question and that he did not know Michael D.. He himself was later approached by FC Barcelona about a suspicious invoice for one million euros. He cleared up the matter and on his next visit, the person responsible at the club hugged him because he, Zahavi, had saved them from making a "terrible mistake".
As Der Spiegel writes, Michael D. was actually tracked down late in the investigation. However, it remains unclear whether he was the alleged fraudster. The man from Holland denies any involvement and claims that his ID was stolen and that it was a case of identity theft.
Michael D. had uploaded a photo as his Facebook profile picture which, according to Der Spiegel, shows him as a spectator in a football stadium. Not just any football stadium, however, but at Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona stadium.
