Sports
How Fraudster Posing As Lewandowski’s Lawyer Duped Barcelona £1m
Lewandowski, who joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022 for an initial fee of €45 million (£37 million), has become a key player, netting 71 goals in 106 matches.
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Behind the scenes, however, the club faced a serious issue when a fraudster exploited Lewandowski’s high-profile transfer. After his move, Barcelona was contacted by someone claiming to work with his agent, Pini Zahavi.
The scammer, using the false identity of Michael Hermanus Gerardus Demon, posed as Lewandowski’s lawyer and requested €1 million to be transferred to a Cypriot bank account.
Despite the ongoing pressure from the fraudster, Barcelona eventually agreed to the payment, transferring the funds to an account at Banc de Xipre.
Fortunately, the bank’s compliance department flagged the transaction as suspicious and froze the funds, preventing the fraudster from accessing them.
An investigation by Cadena SER revealed that the scammer had no prior banking history with the Cypriot bank. When Barcelona sought to verify the identity, they contacted Zahavi, who confirmed he had no knowledge of the individual. The bank then permanently froze the funds.
The impersonator later threatened to report Barcelona to UEFA and demanded an additional €250,000 (£207,000) for his silence. However, the club successfully recovered the €1 million from the Cypriot bank.
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Despite the close call, Catalan police have not initiated a criminal investigation since Barcelona has not filed a formal complaint.
The club confirmed to Cadena SER that it had been targeted in an attempted fraud, prompting them to enhance their anti-fraud measures.
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