A respected soccer star who is active in the Swedish national team is accused of money laundering.
The player is suspected of sending money from a fraudulent scheme through his bank account.
“I asked the person if it was a joke and he said it wasn’t. I thought nothing of it,” the soccer star said in his questioning.
In January 2018, 150,000 SEK arrived in the footballer’s account, an amount that he then distributed to eight other people on the same day.
The money is suspected to be part of a larger fraud package of nearly 2 million kronor.
“I don’t know people”
The footballer, who has merit in the Swedish national team, claims that a friend won money when betting and that he only helped the person send money until he reached his light limit. He doesn’t want to say who got it. He says the person was a friend but is no longer.
“A friend asked me to receive money and then pass it on to certain numbers. I didn’t know the people I sent it to.”he says in a police interrogation.
He did not do his own research to ascertain the source of the funds.
The summons reached the county court on December 19, and the footballer is now charged with money laundering along with two other people, one of whom is suspected of serious money laundering.
The punishment requested by the Public Prosecutor is a suspended sentence and a fine.
Evidence showed that he dealt with money derived from a fraud. Now his intent must be examined by the district court, says District Attorney Carl Edeland.
Marie Schwab, the footballer’s lawyer in the case, has not heard of the indictment yet.
– I have no comments yet, you say.
Previously acquitted
Earlier this year, the footballer was acquitted of a similar offense that also took place in 2018. At that time, 97,000 kroner was transferred to his account, and at that time he sent 80,000 to four people, of which 17,000 remained in his account. Arithmetic.
Even then, he claims a friend told him to do it and that person won gambling money.
The district court then held that the well-known footballer could not be considered to have intended money from crime or criminal activity.