epa10506352 Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis (L) and Napoli's Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen prior to be awarded as 'Best Foreign Athlete of the Year' by Italian foreign press association in Rome, Italy, 06 March 2023. EPA-EFE/ETTORE FERRARI

Napoli lawyer Mattia Grassani assures fans that the investigation into President Aurelio De Laurentiis over the Victor Osimhen transfer with LOSC is ‘non-news.’

It was announced today that De Laurentiis and therefore Napoli were under investigation in Rome for false accounting regarding the deal in 2020.

This transfer has long aroused suspicion in Italy and France, as it was valued at €71.2m, but €20.1m of that was made up of four players in exchange, who went on to either barely or never play for Lille.

It was therefore investigated over the potential that their transfer fees were artificially inflated to boost capital gains.

“Aside from the technicalities, we want to inform the fans what is happening and reassure them,” Napoli lawyer Grassani told Radio CRC.

“Napoli have already been judged on this matter with two different levels of the justice system that cleared the club and directors, finding no irregularities.

“Napoli is the only club where the Prosecutor did not ask for the judgment to be revoked, which then lead to Juventus having first a 15-point and then 10-point Serie A penalty.

“Consequently, if there is no new evidence in this investigation, the Osimhen issue can be considered concluded on a disciplinary level.”

Grassani explained that the only reason the investigation had moved from Naples to Rome was due to territorial competence, because false accounting would be done by the Filmauro group.

This is the holding company for De Laurentiis that runs Napoli and also Serie B side Bari, and their headquarters are in Rome.

“It was an inevitable move, which is why for me this is non-news. The investigation was transferred over territorial competence, not because of any new evidence.”

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