Argentine court orders trial of Maradona’s sisters and associates over alleged fraud in managing the late football star’s brand assets
BUENOS AIRES: An Argentine court on Tuesday ordered two of Diego Maradona’s sisters, his lawyer and three other people to stand trial for “fraudulent administration” of the late idol’s brand.
According to the court order obtained by AFP, the accused will be tried on charges of “defrauding the interests of Maradona’s legitimate heirs,” a reference to his five children.
Maradona died in 2020 at the age of 60 while recovering at home from surgery for a brain clot.
A separate court is hearing a negligence case brought against his medical team.
The case over the management of his brand evolved out of a row between the star’s sisters and children.
His former lawyer, Matias Morla, and two of his aides are accused of profiting from the “Diego Maradona” brand and its derivatives which, according to his children, should have been transferred to them after his death.
His sisters Rita and Claudia Maradona, along with a notary, are charged as accomplices in the scheme.
A lawyer for one of Maradona’s daughters told AFP that Morla, who set up a company to manage the player’s brand, ran the business “for himself” directly after Maradona’s death before later handing control to the players’ sisters.
Prosecutors say that the star’s assets should have immediately reverted to his heirs after his death.
Felix Linfante, lawyer for Jana Maradona, one of the daughters, said that the player’s trademarks were worth “around $100 million.”
