The UCO detects a possible extra cost of 5.7 million in trips by the Football Federation

The Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard (UCO) detected that the Royal Spanish Football Federation could have incurred extra costs of almost 5.7 million euros in travel management between 2018 and 2022, with Luis Rubiales as president, which were contracted with companies of the Globalia group.

This is stated by the UCO in a report sent to the Mahadahonda court (Madrid) that investigates allegedly irregular contracts of the last five years in the RFEF, coinciding with Rubiales' time at the head of the entity.

In the report, dated May 2023, the armed institute's researchers explain that since 2018 there has been "a successive increase" in payments made by the RFEF to Globalia companies, at a time that includes the coronavirus pandemic.

And they reveal that between 2018 and 2022 "the amounts declared and imputed between the aforementioned companies (of Globalia) and the RFEF differ significantly, those declared by the federative entity are noticeably lower": Globalia imputes payments of 79.5 million to the federative entity. euros but the Federation declares 73.8 million. Of the almost 80 million declared by Globalia, some 77.5 million would have been made to the company Sekai Corporate Travel.

The UCO details that, after taking several statements, including those from the Federation's press chief, they learned that in "internal forums" of the entity it was commented that the expenses for travel, stay and maintenance on delegation trips - such as of women's and men's futsal, among others - were "higher than those initially budgeted", and this happened especially in international trips.

The agents verified that in 2018 the president of the RFEF reported alleged cost overruns on a trip that was going to be contracted with El Corte Inglés, and in 2019 he agreed that the Globalia group would be in charge of the entity's trips for four years. including trips to the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

And thus it compares the amounts declared by both entities each year, detailing that in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Globalia group charges the Federation with payments worth 15.2 million euros, compared to 13.4 in 2019. The RFEF declares that it paid 16.8 in 2020, compared to 9.5 in 2019.

The report also reveals the relations between Francisco Javier Martínez Alcaide, 'Nene', a friend of Rubiales investigated in the case, with the general director of Be Live Hotels (of Globalia), highlighting that Alcaide frequently travels to the Dominican Republic, where Be Live Hotels manages several hotels.