Blues 'could be handed points deduction' due to payments in Abramovich's tenure
Chelsea could be handed a points deduction after leaked files revealed a string of payments that may have breached strict football rules, according to reports.
The investigation revealed a series of payments worth tens of millions of pounds across a decade during Roman Abramovich's tenure as club owner.
Abramovich sold Chelsea to Todd Boehly last year in a £4.2billion deal after the government sanctioned the former owner in March following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, however investigations have been looking into dealings under the club's former ownership.
The transactions in question, according to The Guardian, were 'routed through offshore vehicles belonging to Abramovich' and seem as though they were made to benefit Chelsea or individuals around the club.
Beneficiaries appear to include an associate of manager Antonio Conte, Eden Hazard's agent and other Chelsea FC officials.
Other payments appear to have been connected to the purchase of the players Willian and Samuel Eto'o, which was initially revealed last month.
The Premier League and the Football Association are already investigating Chelsea's finances, while UEFA already fined the club £8.6m after the current owners reported that 'incomplete financial information' was submitted during Abramovich's tenure.
However, the new document leak now raises fresh questions over whether Abramovich continuously undermined financial fair play rules.
The first incident, which was revealed as part of an international investigation known as the Cyprus Confidential, showed that on July 18th 2017, an Abramovich-owned company called Conibair Holdings signed an agreement with Federico Pastorello, an Italian football agent with reported close connections to Antonio Conte.
The Guardian
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