Former Chelsea star Diego Costa is reportedly being investigated by the Brazilian authorities over his alleged involvement in a gambling racket.
The Atletico Mineiro striker, 32, is suspected of being the financier of the alleged betting website Esportenet.
The Federal Police in the Brazilian state of Sergipe, where the footballer was born, are investigating Esportenet for the “alleged practice of exploitation of gambling, money laundering, currency evasion and criminal organisation”, according to the Brazilian news site Ge.Globo.
The police are investigating the website’s owners, workers, and the “suspected financier of the criminal network”, who was identified as a “footballer”, but whose name was not divulged.
Ge.Globo said former Chelsea striker Costa is the suspected money man after he returned to Brazil when he left Atletico Madrid last year.
The police issued seven warrants for raids in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo, Bahia, and Sergipe on Thursday, 30th September, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
One raid was reportedly carried out in Costa’s home municipality of Lagarto in Sergipe State. However, the police did not report the names of those suspected of being involved or the exact locations where the searches took place.
The police said that the first phase of the investigation, named ‘Operation Distraction’, happened in March this year when computers and documents were seized, shedding further light into the alleged organisation’s activities.
The evidence helped the police to identify “other gambling platforms” the organisation used, adding that the suspects cooperated with “businesses” and other individuals to “launder money and evade foreign currency”.
The police have identified money launderers involved in the scam and the identity of a “footballer” who is accused of being the “financier of the criminal network”.
Costa, named as the suspected financier by Ge.Globo, is currently contracted with Atletico Mineiro until the end of 2022.
The report did not say whether Costa had been questioned or detained in the raid in his hometown.
The investigation continues.
