World Cup champion Papu Gomez and 5 other players involved in a $3.4 million encryption scam.

PANews June 11 news, according to Decrypt, the Barcelona Fifth District Court is investigating a cryptocurrency fraud case involving professional football players. The company involved, Shirtum, is accused of defrauding investors of at least $3.4 million through an NFT project endorsed by star players. The six players involved include World Cup champion Papu Gómez, Lucas Ocampos, former Barcelona players Ivan Rakitić and Javier Saviola, as well as Nico Pareja and Alberto Moreno. Prosecutor's documents show that this West-Asian joint venture evaded taxes through a complex corporate structure, and the player image rights NFTs it sold never had trading functionality. After the players participated as "founders" in promotion, relevant social media evidence was systematically deleted. In March 2022, the company claimed it was hacked but did not file a police report, and the platform quietly shut down afterward.