POLICE investigating former Chelsea striker Diego Costa over an alleged betting scandal have secured a court order to scrutinise his bank accounts.
The 33-year-old, currently a free agent after terminating his contract with Brazilian top-flight side Atletico Mineiro, was named last October as one of the people being probed by detectives in the state of Sergipe where he was born.
His lawyer insisted once he was identified that the football star was innocent of any wrongdoing and would be contacting police himself to give a statement voluntarily.
A court in Sergipe has now approved a police request for the footballer’s confidential banking information, including details of his Spanish accounts, according to reports in Brazil.
Media giant Globo’s sports portal Ge said federal court officials agreed to the petition after the Spain international, who has been linked to clubs around the world including Arsenal and Benfica since he became a free agent last month, was ‘unable to explain’ his financial relationship with online betting site Esportenet.
Spain is said to have already been made aware of the Brazilian court decision, paving the way for the bank-client confidentiality that normally protects customers’ financial activities to be waived as part of the high-level probe.
There has been no response from Costa to the latest reports, which come after the footballer was questioned late last year and reportedly said he was a betting site client.
Ge has reported he claimed during his quiz under oath that he was a simple ‘consumer’ but wasn’t able to give detectives his login and password.
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It added, quoting sources close to the ongoing investigation: “As far as the Federal Police are concerned, the dynamics of the financial movements between Diego and members of the group demonstrate a volume of transfers which would be incompatible with this version.”
Detectives went public with the operation Costa has been caught up in at the end of September last year.
They said at the time a footballer they did not name officially was one of the suspects under investigation and described him in a formal statement as the ‘alleged financier of a criminal scheme’ in a formal statement.
They also confirmed they had seized more than £1.75million in cash during searches linked to a probe into ‘he alleged practices of exploitation of gambling, money laundering, foreign currency exchange and criminal association involving the ESPORTENET betting site, its owners, financial operators and financier.’
Atletico Mineiro, Costa’s club at the time, appeared to confirm the ex-Stamford Bridge striker was the footballer at the centre of the police probe by saying they would support him if he asked for help in a statement.
His lawyer Aurelio Belem went on to confirm Costa’s home in the Brazilian city of Lagarto had been searched.
But he denied police claims Costa was the alleged financier of any criminal racket, telling local media: “A search took place of his house, which is his home in Lagarto. State police were received by his relatives.
“That search took place because Diego, as a European citizen, as someone who was living in Madrid in Spain, placed legal, legitimate bets on games.
“Some way or other, that was detected and became the focus of checks.
“Police carried out their search as and when they wanted, without any interference.
“They took nothing, nothing was seized, no documents or money. Absolutely nothing.
“The search was unsuccessful in the sense nothing was confiscated.
“There was a search but no seizures. Nothing was removed from the house.”
He added, claiming the footballer would be contacting police to offer to make a statement: “The truth is that Diego wants to know what the accusation against him is, although in a way there is no accusation from a juridical point of view.
“There’s no basis for this investigation.
“We all know the onus of proof is on the accuser and we’re relaxed about that.”
Costa, full name Diego da Silva Costa, transferred to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in 2014 in a deal worth £32m.
He won three trophies including two Premier League titles during his time at Stamford Bridge.
He returned to Atletico Madrid in 2018 following a rift with then-manager Antonio Conte.
Costa, a dual citizen of Brazil and Spain, joined Atletico Mineiro on August 14 last year, signing a deal until December 2022.
After he became a free agent he is said to have held informal talks with the Gunners but reports at the time said he was keen on a move to Corinthians to link up with ex-Chelsea team-mate Willian.
Earlier this month it was reported he was available for £46,000-a-week and had reportedly been offered to Bundesliga club Mainz on a deal worth a fraction of what he would have earned at Chelsea.
He was pictured over Christmas cruising round the streets of Brazil in a tractor.
The striker posted the clip of himself at the wheel of the vehicle to his five million Instagram followers.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
