A court of appeal Argentina confirmed this Monday the prosecution of two sisters of Diego Armando Maradona, Rita Mabel and Claudia Norma Maradona, as necessary participants in the crime of fraud due to fraudulent administration of the trademark that bears the name of the Argentine soccer star.
The indictment had been issued on September 18 by Chamber IV of the National Court of Criminal and Correctional Appeals and was confirmed this Monday by Chamber VII of the same Chamber.
The ruling, to which EFE had access, also confirmed the prosecution of Matías Morla, Maradona’s lawyer and attorney until his death, on November 25, 2020, and his assistant Maximiliano Pomargo, among others.
The dispute revolves around the transfer of the usufruct of the “Diego Maradona” trademark to the company Sattvica SA, established by Morla, who had broad powers of administration and disposal over the star’s assets, in partnership with Rita Mabel and Claudia Norma Maradona.
The case was initiated after the complaint of two of the soccer player’s daughters, Dalma and Gianinna Maradona, and also has another of his daughters, Jana Maradona, as a plaintiff.
The application of a preventive embargo of 2,000 million pesos (about 1,356,000 dollars) for all defendants was also confirmed.
The embargo figure was calculated based on “the profits that resulted from the exploitation of Diego Maradona’s brands, in accordance with the exchange rate and the variation over the years that have passed” and “the eventual compensation that may arise was also assessed,” according to the ruling.
Justice maintained that the transfer of the usufruct of the Maradona brand to Sattvica SA was the result of “a simulated act” that sought to protect those income from the Italian treasury, which had initiated legal actions against the star.
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The ruling stated that although Sattvica SA was a real company, it did not develop any economic activity for several years, “so the consideration that it was a corporate disguise is correct.”
“The acts carried out by those involved after the death of Diego Armando Maradona, in abuse of positions born from simulated acts, have affected the rights of the heirs,” the Justice decreed.
Regarding Rita Maradona and Claudia Maradona, the magistrates considered that their processing as necessary participants “is reconciled with the fact of having received the Sattvica shares and, based on this, benefited from the profits generated by the trademark registrations.”
The Maradona trademark includes, among other things, the commercial, image and intellectual property rights associated with Diego Armando Maradona, including products such as sports clothing, perfumes and even audiovisual material.
