Geneva’s public prosecutor’s office has searched an office belonging to the controversial Chechen owner of Xamax football club, Bulat Chagaev.
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The search was carried out following media reports that a document furnished by Chagaev to prove his solvency was “of doubtful origin”.
In a related move, a criminal complaint was lodged with a Neuchâtel judge against the businessman, who has been based in Switzerland for some 20 years and holds four companies in Geneva, as well as the Neuchâtel club.
The latest developments are linked to a court hearing last week in which Xamax escaped being declared bankrupt.
The judge turned down an application submitted by lawyer Ralph Isenegger who claimed that Xamax owed him SFr400,000 ($447,000) for arranging the transfer of a player.
Isenegger suspects that Xamax did not pay him because it was bankrupt. The questionable document mentioned in media reports is a certification from Bank of America sent by Chagaev to the Swiss Football League and the Neuchâtel court which appears to show he has the funds to run the club. But experts have cast doubt on the authenticity of the document.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.