Chelsea's two transfers probed since 2013 - Report

Chelsea could face a possible points deduction if found guilty of breaching Premier League rules after new details of an investigation into their 'secret' transfer-related payments were revealed. Coming just a week after it emerged that Everton could be hit by a 12-point penalty, the Blues themselves are under the microscope. On August 9 it became public that the Premier League was looking into payments of millions of pounds paid by Chelsea over a seven-year period between 2012 and 2019 under Roman Abramovich's ownership. It is said that financial records show payments may have been made to 'Russian entities' separate from any transfer fee. The current owners, a consortium headed by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, raised awareness of the payments during a due diligence process after buying the club in 2022. Chelsea then reported the payments themselves to the FA, Premier League and UEFA. It has now been reported in The Times that deals to bring Willian and Samuel Eto'o to the club in 2013 are two of the moves being looked at. Willian signed for £ 30 million from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala whilst his teammate for the 2013/14 season, Eto'o was brought in for free on deadline day that year. The players are not thought to have been aware of the payments made by the club to 'secretive offshore companies', though it is written that one of the alleged transactions involved money sent to another player's family. At the time of the investigation, Chelsea wrote: “These allegations pre-date the club’s current ownership. They concern entities that were allegedly controlled by the club’s former owner and do not relate to any individual who is presently at the club. Chelsea FC’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on May 30, 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to the completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions during the club’s previous ownership. Immediately following the completion of the purchase, the club proactively self-reported these matters to all applicable football regulators. In accordance with the club’s ownership group’s core principles of full compliance and transparency, the club has proactively assisted the applicable regulators with their investigations and will continue to do so.”
This may not stop the club from being punished for the possible breaches of rules though large fines and other sanctions including a points deduction also still possible. It is hoped that the actions of the current owners would mitigate against these deterrents though. “If the Premier League believes a club has breached the financial regulations and there is a case to answer, that case will be put to the club,” the chief executive of the league, Richard Masters said earlier this year. “We want due process to be served in as efficient a way as possible, as quickly as possible. Chelsea has already agreed to an £ 8.57 million (€10m) settlement with UEFA over financial fair play breaches in the past year with the footballing body saying that it was for "instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club’s previous ownership." This could suggest that the likelihood of some sanctions remains very possible, even if it isn't as severe as the one being recommended for Everton. Former club director Marina Granovskaia declined to comment on the investigation which regards her time at the club alongside previous chairman Bruce Buck. Both left the club after the new owners took over 15 months ago, though the club had initially planned for them to be involved in a transition period.