The court exonerates the former officials of the federation of the crimes of fraud, misappropriation and false documentation in the context of sports aid in 2010.

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The Madrid High Court acquits Jorge Pérez and other former RFEF executives in the "Haiti case"

The Provincial Court of Madrid has handed down a sentence dated 14 March 2025 in which it acquits Jorge Pérez, former secretary general of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), of all the offences with which he was charged. The court also exempts José María Castillón, former general administrator of the Federation, and Isabel Navas, former director of the RFEF Foundation, from criminal liability.

Acquitted of fraud, misappropriation and false documentation

The three former directors were accused of subsidy fraud, misappropriation and false documentation, charges of which they have been fully acquitted after analysing the facts related to public aid granted by the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) in 2010, popularly known as the "Haiti Case".

This ruling is in addition to the one handed down in 2021, which acquitted the former president of the RFEF, Ángel María Villar, in relation to the same facts.

A case filed after reimbursement of the subsidy

The origin of the case goes back to subsidies granted by the CSD to promote transversal sports policies. During an audit carried out in 2016, irregularities were detected in the justification of the expenditure by the RFEF, which led to the opening of a reimbursement file by the state body on 22 August 2016.

The RFEF accepted the resolution issued on 20 December 2016, requiring the full repayment of the subsidy plus interest, totalling 1,560,931.13 euros. On 16 January 2017, Castillón, as general administrator, proceeded to transfer the full amount demanded to the CSD.

There was no enrichment or crime

In its ruling, the Provincial Court establishes that it was not proven that any of the defendants appropriated the money, diverted it to their personal assets or acted for profit. It also highlights that the non-compliance with the subsidised programmes was resolved through administrative channels, and the Federation proceeded to reimburse the subsidy in full, thus closing the legal dispute.

With this ruling, the three former directors are totally exonerated, putting an end to a legal process that had been dragging on for several years.