The deputy general manager of FC Nantes, Franck Kita, son of the club owner, was placed in police custody on Wednesday, we learned from a police source, confirming information from Presse Océan.
“He was taken into custody on Wednesday,” the police source told an AFP correspondent.
Solicited by AFP on Wednesday evening, the public prosecutor of Rennes, Philippe Astruc, simply replied: “I neither confirm nor deny your information. A point will be made as usual at the end of the measurements in progress.
According to the daily Presse Océan, the placement in police custody of the son of the owner of FC Nantes, Waldemar Kita, is part of the judicial investigation opened in Rennes for “illegal exercise of a sports agent activity (.. .), forgery and use of forgery, misuse of corporate assets, laundering of aggravated tax evasion and laundering in an organized gang”.
His police custody comes the day after a similar measure was taken against two FC Nantes players’ agents as part of this investigation.
On Tuesday, the Rennes prosecutor had confirmed to AFP “this double placement in police custody (of the two agents, editor’s note) within the framework of the rogatory commission of the investigating magistrate”, without further details.
According to Presse Océan, the two agents concerned are Bakari Sanogo and Joaquim Batica.
On May 10, 2022, three days after Nantes’ coronation in the Coupe de France, three club officials had already been placed in police custody for several hours as part of an investigation into player transfers.
According to several media, the investigators were then interested in commissions paid to Bakari Sanogo during several transfers.
As part of this investigation, searches had previously been carried out in December 2020 at the club’s headquarters, at the Jonelière training center.
Agent of Moussa Sissoko, Bakari Sanogo is an intermediary close to Waldemar Kita who has regularly called on his services in his recruitments.