Andrés Iniesta is news. And it is for something that has little to do with football, sports or entertainment. On this occasion, the headlines are in the pages of the judicial chronicle due to a controversy that arose in Peru, where the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the former midfielder for his role in an alleged chain of scams against businessmen in the country for a sum of around $600,000.
Iniesta’s entourage has already denied the accusations and speaks of “malicious” information to take advantage of his image. It is not the first time that the former soccer player has been under the spotlight for his role as a businessman: years ago he did it for his wineries, both due to a dispute with the Treasury and because of his losses.
What has happened? That the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office is investigating Iniesta for an alleged “aggravated fraud.” The news has been reported by the country’s media, such as The Republic, Trome o Libero and it has been echoed in Spain by the Efe agency, The Country or La Sexta, which has even spoken with one of those affected. Basically, the Public Ministry has opened a tax file on the former soccer player following a complaint related to the company NSN Barcelona, linked to Iniesta.
In the Prosecutor’s document (partially reproduced by The Republic) it can be read that the complaint is filed against Iniesta and at least two other people for “the alleged commission of crimes against property in the form of aggravated fraud.” The document also details that the “prestige” of the former Barça player played a key role in raising funds and committing the alleged scam.
What is investigated? The facts reported by Gucho Entertainment and other Peruvian businessmen who claim to have invested around $600,000 in a series of events (sports and artistic) that supposedly had the support of NSN Sudamérica, a subsidiary of the company linked to Iniesta.
His name would have made it easier for the Peruvian businessmen who have now gone to court to hand over thousands of dollars to organize a series of shows. Specifically, four are mentioned: the Upa Upa Fest, a friendly between the Cienciano club of Cusco and the Nacional of Ecuador, a K-pop festival and another legends match between Peru and Spain. Of all of them, only one was held, the Upa Upa Fest, and it did not turn out as investors expected. In fact, it left considerable losses.
And what happened? The problem is that the firm that was supposed to be in charge of the executive production of the events, NSN Sudamérica, declared bankruptcy in June 2024. The subsidiary entered into a liquidation process and allegedly did not return the money invested by the Peruvian businessmen to finance the rest of the shows.
“No notification. We found out that the company was in liquidation. They never took responsibility for anything, although they were supposedly going to do so,” Emilio Lozano, one of the supposedly affected businessmen, denounced on Monday in an interview with ‘And now Sonsoles’, a La Sexta program.
What does that have to do with Iniesta? That NSN South America is a delegation of NSN Barcelona. The former La Roja footballer himself celebrated the launch in 2023, according to statements collected by The Country: “We are very excited to be present in a country like Peru and a continent like South America to continue growing and promoting our values around the world.”
The subsidiary was established at the beginning of that year by a group of Peruvian and Spanish businessmen, the starting signal for attracting investors. The Prosecutor’s Office document not only cites the former soccer player, but it does underline that his name was essential for raising funds.
How key was it? The writing is very clear.
“The facts that will be detailed below involve Andrés Iniesta, who is a figure of international recognition for his achievements in professional football as a former player of the Club Barcelona of Spain and having been a former world champion with the Spanish team, who using this prestige authorized and supported the foundation of NSN Sudamérica to act as a subsidiary of his company NSN Barcelona throughout South America. However, that prestige was only used to raise capital from Peruvian businessmen under the deception that they were going to be invested in large events that were approved in coordination between NSN Barcelona and NSN South America,” reads the Prosecutor’s Office document cited by The Republic.
At the moment the agency has initiated preliminary proceedings for an alleged crime against property, a phase that will last several weeks.
What does the company say? Mark distances. Through a blunt statement, Iniesta and NSN made several points clear. To begin with, they “outrightly” deny the accusations that have been published in recent days. Second, they claim that the information has been published “maliciously” with the purpose of taking advantage of the image of “a public figure” like Iniesta.
“We trust that the Peruvian justice system will clarify this situation very soon and we reserve the right to file the relevant actions in the defense of our work and honor, requesting maximum rigor in the information published regarding this case,” concludes the official statement.
The former soccer player’s entourage has gone further and explained to La Sexta that the former soccer player and NSN are also affected: they created a subsidiary in Peru “led by people who were not the right ones and harmed them and third parties.” “Those responsible made a mistake when it came to putting the right people in place,” they add.
Images | Wikipedia and Carlos Fernández (Unsplash)
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