Introduction
Six high-profile footballers, including World Cup winners and former stars of Barcelona and Sevilla, are under investigation in Barcelona over their involvement in a failed crypto and NFT scheme. Investors claim to have lost at least $3.4 million (about €3 million) when the platform backed by these players collapsed.
The Alleged Scheme: Shirtum Europa SLU and the $SHI Token
Barcelona’s Fifth District Court has opened a criminal probe into Shirtum Europa SLU, a crypto startup that sold NFTs tied to the image rights of footballers. These NFTs were purchasable only via the proprietary $SHI token and ranged in price, with some costing more than €450 ($513).
Despite assurances, the promised trading platform never materialised. Instead, victims were left holding non functional digital tokens.
Who’s Involved? Footballers in the Spotlight
The footballers named in the criminal complaint include:
- Alejandro “Papu” Gómez (World Cup winner)
- Lucas Ocampos (World Cup winner)
- Ivan Rakitić, Javier Saviola, Nico Pareja, Alberto Moreno (ex-Barcelona and Sevilla stars).
They served as public ambassadors and were even presented as “founders” of the venture, lending it legitimacy. Allegedly, Gómez played a pivotal role in recruiting others before erasing all traces of the project from social platforms.
The Masterminds and the Architecture
The operation is said to have been masterminded by Argentine businessman David Rozencwaig, Catalan entrepreneurs Manel Ángel Torras, his son Marc Alberto Torras, and Manuel Morillas.
Investigators considered the organization as a “spider web” in Spain and Andorra to evade taxes, and to potentially shield themselves from liability. Experts have done economic analysis and provided a report, authored by economist Prosper Lamothe; specifically on indirect taxes, indirect tax, indirect taxation, indirect taxation or tax evasion in a convoluted structure that “is opaque and tax-evasive”.
Allegations and Legal Status
The investigation is the result of a complaint filed by 12 investors, early in the year, alleging that Shirtum took millions of dollars for personal use and that after soliciting more funding promised they had been hacked a few times in March 2022 – which was never reported, planned, etc. and abandoned or stopped fundraising.
Barcelona’s courts are now processing up to 11 possible charges, including fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion, and false advertising. While preliminary hearings are scheduled for mid June, no formal charges have been announced yet.
Broader Context: Crypto Meets Football
The Shirtum case unearths deeper issues in sport-linked crypto ventures. When Spain’s 2021 ban on gambling adverts left sponsorship voids in La Liga, crypto jumped in to fill the gap.
Yet many high-profile partnerships soon soured, leaving clubs with unpaid fees and investors with little to show. As Mohith Agadi of Fact Protocol remarked:
“People see big names like football stars and think it’s a safe bet, but that trust can be exploited.”
This story is eerily reminiscent of larger scams like Omegapro, where celebrity endorsements drew in billions before collision.
What Lies Ahead
Investigators are looking into whether these footballers were unwitting participants or knew about the fraud. Aside from the criminal aspects, the case could change how athletes engage with the promotion of crypto, with more scrutiny, and tighter regulations.
At this point in time, it remains to be seen what will happen, depending on the court’s ruling, investor accounts and expert testimonies. What is for sure is that celebrity endorsement in the crypto space has been put under a larger microscope – and rightfully so.
Conclusion
The Shirtum fiasco serves as a cautionary tale: when high-profile individuals are endorsing hype-fueled crypto or NFT projects, due diligence is critically important. With millions of dollars lost and reputations to protect, the ruling from the court could help shape the way that celebrity-endorsed crypto projects are sanctioned and viewed in the public eye.
