Two of Diego Maradona’s sisters are accused of fraud that allegedly occurred in the administration of the trademark that bears the Argentine football star’s name. Rita Mabel and Claudia Norma Maradona are named by Argentine Justice as part of a scheme that still involves, among others, the player’s lawyer and representative until his death in 2020. The case began after a complaint filed by Dalma and Gianinna Maradona, daughters of the Argentine idol.
The indictment was issued on September 18 of this year by Chamber IV of the National Court of Appeals in Criminal and Correctional Matters and was confirmed last Monday (19) by Chamber VII of the same Court, says the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional.
Matías Morla, Maradona’s lawyer and representative until his death on November 25, 2020, and his assistant Maximiliano Pomargo, both indicted in the case, also appear in the sentence. EFE had access to the document. According to investigations, ownership of the “Diego Maradona” brand was transferred to the company Sattvica SA, owned by Morla.
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The company held broad powers of administration and disposal over the player’s assets. The court also ordered the application of a preventive embargo of 2 billion pesos (around 1.35 million dollars or 7.47 million reais). This value was calculated based on the “profits resulting from the exploitation of Diego Maradona’s trademarks, in accordance with the exchange rate and variation over the years” and “the possible compensation that may result was also assessed”, says an excerpt from the decision to which El Nacional had access.
The company was classified as a shell company because, although it has an active registration, it has not registered economic activities in recent years. For Justice, the transfer of the brand was a maneuver to prevent Italian tax authorities from having access to the revenue. A legal battle lasted more than 30 years after Maradona was accused of allegedly using companies in Liechtenstein to avoid paying legal fees for his image rights between 1985 and 1990 through the club Napoli, where he was a player.
“The actions carried out by those involved after the death of Diego Armando Maradona, abusing positions originating from simulated acts, affected the rights of the heirs,” the court ruled.
The Maradona brand includes, among other things, the commercial, image and intellectual property rights associated with Diego Maradona. This includes products such as sportswear, perfumes and even audiovisual material.
