Napoli, De Laurentiis remanded for trial in the Osimhen and Manolas cases

The gup of Roma has remanded for trial the president of Napoli, Aurelio De Laurentiis, for the crime of falso in bilancio in relation to the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. In addition to the president, the judge sent to trial his right-hand man, Andrea Chiavelli, and the football club. At the centre of the proceedings were alleged fictitious capital gains in the purchase from Roma of defender Kostas Manolas in the summer of 2019 and the purchase of striker Victor Osimhen in 2020 from French side Lille.

"We are absolutely astonished by the judge's decision. It is more and more proof of how the preliminary hearing is becoming a useless junction until we have to deal with a truly third-party judge. Here there were all the prerequisites to acquit the defendants because the prosecution, or rather the Guardia di Finanza also erred in the application of accounting principles". This is the position of the lawyers Gaetano Scalise, Fabio Fulgeri and Lorenzo Contrada who defend Adl.

The trial has been set for 2 December 2026. 'Unfortunately, until we restore the motivation for committal decrees this will be the fate of many trials. The prosecution, the prosecutors pointed out in their indictment that Napoli did not receive any advantage in this case,' the criminalists concluded.

The activity of the Roman prosecutors has essentially travelled along two strands: that relating to the purchase of the former Greek national team player and the tranche concerning the operation that brought the Nigerian striker to the Azzurri. The Manolas deal dates back to the summer market session six years ago. It was a negotiation between the two clubs that materialised with the payment of 36 million euros, an amount equal to the rescission clause, by Napoli. An operation that allowed a capital gain for the coffers of the Giallorossi club, then led by James Pallotta, of over €31 million.

As for Osimhen, the investigators' lens was placed on the transfer of the bomber for a sum exceeding €71 million. The case had landed in Rome in June 2022. The investigation was entrusted to the Guardia di Finanza's Nucleo di polizia economico finanziaria, which carried out a series of searches both at the Filmauro headquarters in Rome and at Castelvolturno, where Napoli's headquarters are located.