Aurelio de Laurentiis and his son, investigated for fraudulent bankruptcy in Bari

Aurelio De Laurentiispresident of the Board of Directors of the Naplesand his son Luigiadministrator of bariare under investigation for alleged fraudulent bankruptcy of the Bari club. The Guardia di Finanza (Italian Financial Police) reported this Tuesday in a note that it is carrying out searches in the offices of the Bari and Napoli football clubs for possible crimes of false corporate communications about Bari corresponding to 2024, as well as fraudulent procedures related to the bankruptcy application filed for the insolvency of the same sports club. Bari were recently relegated to Serie C.

The sale to Napoli of footballer Elia Caprile, acquired from Bari by the English club Leeds, is also being investigated. The player was sold to Napoli in July 2023 for 2.2 million euros, without Bari receiving any part of the possible capital gain. The player was sold to Napoli in July 2023 for 2.2 million euros, without Bari receiving any part of the possible capital gain.

In addition, searches are being carried out at the headquarters of Filmauro in Rome, the sole shareholder of both football clubs. The documentation in hand of the sports directors Ciro Polito (formerly of Bari), Cristiano Giuntoli and Mauro Meluso (formerly of Napoli) and the agent Graziano Battistini, who followed the footballer Elia Caprile, who are not being investigated, are also being analyzed.

“The order arises from an exhaustive analysis of the financial statements, explanatory notes and management reports of the company based in Bari, carried out with the support of technical consultants. These investigations revealed that the aforementioned entity, which is experiencing a systemic loss (approximately 30 million euros between 2019 and 2025), is burdened by significant financial deficits and a high exposure to debt, without a concrete restructuring plan,” explains the Financial Guard.