Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Gabriele Gravina has responded to recent developments in the investigation led by the Perugia Prosecutor’s Office regarding allegations of embezzlement and money laundering against him. These accusations stem from abusive dossiers created by the National Anti-Mafia Directorate, in what has been termed the “dossier system” scandal.
In a press statement, Gravina declared: “The investigations carried out by the Perugia Prosecutor’s Office unmask the plot that led to my registration in the register of suspects. The findings contained in the order signed by Chief Prosecutor Raffaele Cantone certify the contaminated trigger of the investigation against me and therefore the falsity of the investigative proposal and the illegality of the in-depth activity carried out.”
Gravina outlined three key points in his statement, highlighting the involvement of individuals close to Claudio Lotito, president of Lazio, with whom Gravina has had conflicts. He stated: “The investigative impulse on ‘alleged fictitious purchases made by Gravina’ stems from meetings between Deputy Prosecutor Antonio Laudati and the commander of the SOS group, Pasquale Striano, with Emanuele Floridi and Angelo Fabiani, as stated in the ordinance ‘people close to Claudio Lotito, who had reasons for conflict with the FIGC president, Gabriele Gravina.'”
He further explained that the attribution of the investigation to “information elements from the Salerno Prosecutor’s Office” was false and aimed at justifying an investigation that “has nothing to do with the prerogatives of the National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor’s Office.”
Gravina also noted that the preliminary investigations judge in Rome rejected the request for seizure against him, deeming the hypothesis of crime unfounded. He stated: “This demonstrates my non-involvement in any illegal conduct, which I reserve the right to fully demonstrate in any venue, having full confidence in the work of the judiciary.”
The FIGC President concluded by asserting: “The investigations by the Perugia magistrates clearly outline the plots of a conspiracy, orchestrated in complicity between exponents of the football world and state apparatuses, and aimed at producing false evidence against me. In due time, those responsible will be held accountable in the appropriate venues. But the gravity of what happened suggests a particular duty of surveillance to all the institutional contexts involved.”
