Authorities in Argentina have ordered the seizure of assets worth $1.34 million (2 billion pesos) belonging to Diego Maradona’s former lawyer, two of his sisters, and several others accused of mishandling the late football legend’s brand and finances.
According to a ruling obtained by AFP, the Buenos Aires appellate court indicted Maradona’s ex-lawyer, Matias Morla, along with two of his assistants, on charges of fraudulent management. Two of Maradona’s sisters Rita and Claudia and a notary were also prosecuted as accomplices in the case.
The court alleged that Morla’s brand management company was simply a front and that “Maradona continued exercising control of his assets until he died.” Under those conditions, the ruling noted, the assets “immediately revert to his heirs.”
Maradona’s daughters, Dalma and Giannina, were the first to bring accusations against Morla in 2021. Since then, his three other children have joined the legal fight, insisting that the football icon’s brand and subsidiaries should have passed directly to them following his death in 2020 at the age of 60.
Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, died two weeks after undergoing brain surgery. He suffered heart failure and acute pulmonary edema a condition in which fluid builds up in the lungs.
Meanwhile, a separate case to determine whether there was medical negligence in his death is awaiting retrial after a scandal forced the presiding judge to step down. That trial was scrapped earlier this year after two months of hearings.
This new fraud case marks yet another chapter in the turbulent legal battles over the Argentine icon’s legacy, as his children continue fighting to secure what they believe rightfully belongs to them.
-Deeprows Sports