ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that the false accounting case against Juventus will be moved from Turin to Rome, following a request from the defense lawyers.
While the decision was made after a closed-door hearing, it will potentially slow down the proceedings. According to Italian law, the file will now go back to the investigation stage and be sent to the Rome prosecutors’ office.
In March, a Turin judge began examining whether former Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli, 11 other individuals, and the club itself should face trial over accusations of false accounting at the country’s most successful team.
The defense lawyers argued that the case should be transferred to Milan, where the club is listed on the stock market, or Rome, while local prosecutors desired to keep it in Turin.
Juventus firmly denied any wrongdoing and maintained that their accounting practices adhere to industry standards.
Last December, prosecutors in Turin called for the defendants to face trial after investigating the club’s accounting and statements made to financial markets during three recent years.
The Turin criminal investigation triggered separate inquiries by Italy’s soccer authorities, resulting in Juventus receiving a 10-point deduction during the previous Serie A season. In addition, they were fined 718,000 euros ($770,000) and banned by UEFA from participating in this season’s European competitions.
($1 = 0.9321 euros)
(Reporting by Marco Carta in Rome and Giulio Piovaccari in Milan; writing by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Alvise Armellini, Peter Rutherford)
Credit: The Star : Sport Feed
