French investigators raided offices of the French soccer league and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners on Tuesday as part of an investigation into possible corruption and embezzlement related to an investment deal, a judicial official said.
The searches took place amid an investigation that opened in July into charges of misappropriation of public funds, active and passive corruption of a public official and illegal taking of interest, the judicial official told The Associated Press.
The person with direct knowledge of the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing case publicly.
Under its current president, Vincent Labrune, the French soccer league approved in 2022 an investment deal with CVC as part of a new commercial subsidiary in charge of marketing media rights. CVC invested 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in return for a 13% stake in the new commercial subsidiary managing TV rights, valuing the entire capital of the commercial subsidiary at 11.5 billion euros.
The CVC deal was sealed after French soccer came close to bankruptcy following the collapse of a major broadcast rights deal with Mediapro.
The investigation was launched after the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office received in November 2023 a complaint from a group called AC! Anticorruption. Their lawsuit focused on a possible misappropriation of public funds when the French league’s subsidiary company was created following the partial transfer of capital to CVC.
CVC declined to comment on the case and the French league said in a statement that it is cooperating with the investigation “in total transparency.”
“The investigation, which is taking place in the greatest serenity, will confirm that the action taken by the League has always been guided by a deep commitment to French soccer, in full compliance with the rules in force,” the statement said.
The deal with Mediapro should have been worth more than 4 billion euros ($4.8 billion) over four years for the top two tiers but collapsed after only four months. After its collapse, the league was forced to ask the government to set up a financial rescue plan amid huge revenue losses exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Looking for a cash injection to help clubs, French league president Vincent Labrune found an agreement with CVC Capital Partners.
The deal was supported by a large majority of clubs but has been challenged by Le Havre, which launched a lawsuit against the French league because it was unhappy with the distribution of the money.
Twenty clubs were playing in the elite back then — compared to 18 now — with more than 1.1 billion euros to be shared between professional clubs in the top two divisions. Of this sum, Paris Saint-Germain was granted the largest share, 200 million euros to be disbursed in three installments. Marseille and Lyon were entitled to 90 million euros each, and 80 million euros going to Lille, Monaco, Nice and Rennes.
The remaining 13 Ligue 1 clubs were given 33 million euros each.
Ligue 2 teams were granted 3 million euros each, provided they remained in the second tier of French soccer for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 seasons. This was not the case for Le Havre, which was promoted to the elite at the end of the 2023 season and thus missed out on half of the amount it was entitled to, receiving only 1.5 million euros. And once back in the top flight, the club said it was not entitled to half of the 33 million euros allocation earmarked for so-called small Ligue 1 clubs, as it was not in the elite during the 2021-2022 season.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
FILE - Vincent Labrune, head of the French soccer league, leaves the French soccer federation in Paris, France, Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court began hearing arguments Monday about the sentencing of democracy advocate and onetime-media magnate Jimmy Lai and his co-defendants, whose convictions under a national security law could land them in prison for life.
Lai, 78, is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper and an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party. He was arrested in 2020 under the law imposed by Beijing following massive anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong the year before.
In December, he was found guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious articles.
His conviction raised concerns about the curtailing of press freedom in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
His case could also be a test for Beijing's diplomatic ties. The verdict drew criticism from foreign governments, including the U.S. and Britain. After the verdict, U.S. President Donald Trump, who had raised Lai’s case with China, said he felt “so badly.”
Lai, alongside other co-defendants involved in the case, appeared in court for the four-day mitigation hearings. The maximum penalty for their convictions is life imprisonment. Sentencing will come later.
The court Monday morning heard arguments concerning two activists’ sentences. Lawyers representing them suggested the starting points of their clients’ sentences should be 10 years and 10 to 15 years respectively, but they should receive reductions in part due to their assistance in the case.
Lai’s lawyer Robert Pang will deliver his arguments in the afternoon.
When Lai entered the courtroom, he pressed his palms together, an apparent gesture to express gratitude, and smiled at those sitting in the gallery. The media tycoon appeared to be in good spirits and greeted a convicted Apple Daily editor who was also sitting in the dock.
In August, his lawyers told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found in a subsequent medical exam.
Prosecutor Anthony Chau said Lai’s health was stable. Chau said Lai had lost just 0.8 kg (about 1.8 pounds) over five years of detention, weighing 79.2 kg (about 175 pounds) when it was last measured this month. Lai is still considered obese as an Asian adult, Chau said. The obesity comment drew chuckling from some members sitting in the public gallery, and Lai also smiled in the dock.
Before sunrise, dozens of people had already lined up outside the court building to secure a seat in the public gallery. Retiree Simon Ng, a former Apple Daily reader, said he arrived and waited in line since Friday morning, hoping to see Lai.
“I want to let him know that he’s not alone," Ng said. “Many people support him."
Lai was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, in addition to one count of conspiracy to distribute seditious publications. Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A conviction on the collusion charge under the security law results in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life, depending on the offense’s nature and his role in it. The sedition charge under a separate, colonial-era law carries a maximum of two years’ imprisonment.
Three government-vetted judges wrote in their December verdict that Lai spearheaded the conspiracies and took issue with what they called his “constant invitation” to the United States to bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.
Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for foreign sanctions before the national security law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law. They also argued on freedom of expression grounds.
But the judges said that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party. After the enactment of the law, he intended to continue, though less explicitly, they said. They emphasized that Lai was not on trial for his political views.
Beijing has opposed what it called the smearing of Hong Kong's judiciary “by certain countries,” saying the judicial authorities perform duties according to the law.
Six ex-Apple Daily senior executives and two activists involved in Lai's case had entered guilty pleas, admitting that they had conspired with Lai and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions, blockades or engage in other hostile activities.
The executives were publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung and editorial writers Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee. Some of them, alongside the two activists Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah, served as prosecution witnesses during the 156-day trial.
A guilty plea usually can lead to a sentence reduction. Under the security law, a reduced penalty may be granted to those who report on the offense committed by others.
Chan Pui man's husband, Chung Pui-kuen, a former top editor of Stand News who had been sentenced to 21 months in jail in a separate sedition case, was among those sitting in the public gallery.
After the verdict, Lai's daughter, Claire, said Lai would devote himself to God and his family rather than political activism if he were released.
Trump said after the verdict that he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Lai and “asked to consider his release." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, a British citizen.
People line up behind the barricades to attend the hearing about the upcoming sentence for pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)
Correctional Services Department vehicles arrive at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, ahead of a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of democracy advocate and onetime media magnate Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)
Members of foreign councils arrive at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts to attend a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)
Robert Pang, center, lawyer for pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai arrives to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, ahead of a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)
Teresa Lai, wife of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai arrives to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts to attend a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)
FILE- Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is escorted by Correctional Services officers to get on a prison van before appearing in a court in Hong Kong, Dec. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
