Rugby players reported being persuaded to invest hundreds of thousands of euros into the alleged takeover of the French club Béziers. Among those involved in this matter are agent Anthony Johnson and Johan Roux, a former South African national team player.
However, instead of acquiring Béziers, which is a second-division French rugby club, the collected funds were transferred to an Italian man's personal bank account in Poland, where a criminal case was initiated.
Rugby agent Anthony Johnson and Johan Roux, a former midfielder who played in 12 matches for South Africa between 1994 and 1996 and participated in the victorious 1995 Rugby World Cup team, told the players that their money was needed as an advance to 'unlock' a €100 million loan, equivalent to approximately 1.9 billion Rands, which was supposed to be used for the full purchase of the club.
Nevertheless, both men claim that although they presented this deal to the players, they themselves became victims of circumstances. Johnson described his life as a nightmare he works around the clock to 'fix,' while Roux stated that this crisis cost him his marriage.
The men reported that they invested their own funds in the deal and remain hopeful for the return of this money, although Roux refused to provide proof of his payment or disclose the amount he allegedly invested.
The former forward for the Sharks team recounted that after depositing €120,000, which amounts to about 2.2 million Rands, based on a promise made in October 2021, the situation turned into a 'damned clown show.' He requested anonymity to avoid turning the matter into public spectacle.
This player stated that he was introduced through a Zoom meeting organized by Johnson, his agent for 15 years, and then Roux joined. He added: 'Anthony organized the Zoom meeting, and Johan joined later. Anthony asked me to pay the money, and Johan was behind it. Since I haven't received any money after five years, my lawyers helped me file a criminal complaint with the Polish police.'
The agreement signed by the player stipulated a 30-day period. After this period, he was supposed to receive his €120,000 along with €80,000 in interest, totaling a 66% return in one month. However, the deadline passed, and he received neither the investment nor the promised interest.
Another rugby player, who also wished to remain anonymous, reported being offered a similar investment opportunity, and that the method of operation appeared to be similar.
Both players believe it was a scheme where new players' money was used to cover up the problems of previous ones.
Johnson is accredited by the Rugby Football Union and serves as a director of the SA Rugby Agents Association. He has been living in France for the last few years.
Former Springbok midfielder Roux now manages Global Sport Capital, which, according to him, invests in sports and related enterprises. He told IOL that the players' money was never intended for the rugby club, although he confirmed that the forward was told otherwise.
According to the plan, the players' money was used as collateral to obtain a much larger loan from a bank, which was then supposed to be directed towards the purchase of Béziers. This scheme depended on the release of a €100 million loan to Global Sport Capital, which would then use it to acquire the club. However, the loan was never released, and the takeover did not materialize.
During one of the Zoom recordings, Roux told the player that he was part of a bank where the money would go—an organization called Eurokredit Merchant Bank. He stated: 'I [am part of] Eurokredit Merchant Bank, it is a merchant bank we obtained in Italy and Poland.' He continued: 'Now we are short 120 thousand, and we need you to transfer tomorrow. For 120 thousand, we are ready to return 200 thousand. We will probably return it to you within 15 days. You are dealing not with some small player. It is a registered merchant bank.'
Later, during a meeting, the forward expressed concerns about the taxes he would have to pay in France on the €80,000 profit. Roux suggested routing the funds through Cyprus, Poland, or Latvia. He also assured him that the CEO of a Cypriot bank personally supported this scheme, stating that 'they don't care which government knocks on their door; they will never open their books to them.'
The forward signed the agreement on October 28, 2021, and had 24 hours to pay. He made the payment the following morning in 12 installments of €10,000 each. Each transfer was made to the name 'EMB Antonino Pane' and marked with the French word 'pret,' meaning 'loan.' Pane is an Italian citizen who calls himself the CEO of Eurokredit Merchant Bank and provides an address in Sorrento, southern Italy. The account to which the money was transferred was in his name at the Alior bank in Warsaw, Poland.
An IOL investigation, based on the signed agreement, bank records, five years of correspondence, corporate documents from three countries, and three audio recordings, revealed that the deal promised the player insurance coverage of at least €1 million, equivalent to about 18.7 million Rands, from a company named in the agreement as 'Heuler Hermes.' However, a company by that name does not exist. The corresponding trade credit insurer—Euler Hermes, now operating as Allianz Trade—was contacted by IOL to confirm whether a policy was ever issued in connection with this deal.
The account specifying where to send the money was dated a week before the agreement was signed. A year after the payment, Roux signed another document in a strikingly similar format, guaranteeing the return of advance payments made by a Hong Kong company for loans that never materialized. All eight South African companies in which Roux is registered as a director have been liquidated or are in the process of liquidation. The company Global Sport Capital is not registered in South Africa at all.
Roux claimed that the company that would become Global Sport Capital is an American public company of which he is chairman. In a recording, he named three people behind the deal: 'We are busy with the deal: me, Anthony, Rudi Huber (sic).' Huber is a former Bulls coach who was on the Springbok management team for two World Cups. Roux told IOL that he was written authorized by Pane to collect the money but did not present the mandate. He stated that he does not hold shares in the bank, invested more than the forward, but refuses to disclose the amount or confirm whether his own money went to the same account.
Johnson, in turn, told IOL that he lost about €100,000, equivalent to about 1.9 million Rands, of his own funds in this deal and found himself in the same situation as the players. He stated: 'I have no connection to EMB [Eurokredit Bank]. I do not work at EMB. I do not work for EMB. In fact, I personally invested in this business and am in the same situation as the [Sharks forward] and the other guys.'
Johnson provided IOL with evidence, under condition of confidentiality, of three payments totaling €91,500, equivalent to about 1.7 million Rands, sent to Pane's account in Warsaw from an Irish company owned by him. He also confirmed that another player's money passed through his company's account on its way to Pane. It is unclear whether the funds invested by Johnson are his own or money from other players that passed through the same account; the payment documents he provided do not distinguish between these two options.
In the second audio recording listened to by IOL, Johnson discussed the club's purchase and attracting additional funds for it. Johnson is heard saying that he cannot openly have an interest in the club due to his job and cannot afford it. Agents are usually prohibited from having a financial interest in the club where they place players, as this could put them in a position of both sides of the same deal.
Johnson informed IOL that the agreement led nowhere because the club was never bought. He stated that there was no conflict of interest because he is not licensed as an agent in France and did not disclose this agreement to any accreditation body.
Huber, 64, told IOL that he flew to France at his own expense, organized meetings in Béziers, and accompanied Johnson when he met with the city mayor. He was expected to become the club president. Huber reported spending about 500,000 Rands on travel and legal fees on behalf of Roux and received nothing in return, stating that he never met Pane. He emphasized: 'I was not involved in financial operations at all. I was not in that role. I only negotiated rugby matters.'
Between February and June 2022, the player received four letters, each accusing something new of delaying payment. They were written and signed by Pane but forwarded by Roux. In February, he wrote that an investment of €800,000, equivalent to about 15 million Rands, was about to close, and that a two-billion bond was secured for a €450 million offer, equivalent to about 8.4 billion Rands, for a sportswear group. This letter also mentioned Roux's company.
Roux told IOL that such a purchase never happened. In March, Pane blamed American banks worried about Russia and promised payment on a date that was two years prior. Eleven days later, he apologized and pointed to a firm in New York. In June, he blamed the war in Ukraine, stating that funding would come from China, and promised to settle everything by early July with a bonus on top. Nothing was settled, and the bonus was not paid. Questions were directed to Pane and the Polish police.