Six ex-Sevilla players probed in €24M Shirtum crypto case

A criminal complaint filed in Barcelona alleges six former Sevilla FC players were involved in a crypto scheme tied to the Shirtum project that cost investors more than €24 million. Thirteen investors lodged the complaint with Barcelona’s Court of Instruction No. 5, saying they lost all their money after buying digital assets and tokens linked to Shirtum Europa S.L.U. and related companies in Andorra.

The filing names Papu Gómez, Lucas Ocampos, Ivan Rakitić, Nico Pareja, Alberto Moreno and Javier Saviola as accused of promoting and benefiting from the project. Two other players were reported to have promoted the project as well. The complaint states the investors purchased “filmic NFTs” — digital football collectibles advertised with player photos and voice recordings — at about €450 each.

The complaint alleges the NFTs were never created on a blockchain and therefore could not be transferred or resold. “These supposed NFTs technically never existed, were not transferable or resellable, and amounted to a complete simulation of the object sold to the detriment of the buyers,” the filing states.

Before the NFT sales, promoters reportedly collected roughly €3 million in BNB tokens from investors to fund a mobile app for iOS and Android. The complaint says the app was never developed, the funds were not returned, and about €1 million in NFT sales receipts were omitted from the company’s annual accounts.

The filing also alleges manipulation of Shirtum’s $SHI token. Of a one billion token supply, the complaint claims about 78 percent — roughly 780 million tokens — were allocated free to four business promoters and the named players. Those tokens were then sold to retail investors on the PancakeSwap exchange at prices the complainants say were inflated by promotional campaigns designed to generate fear of missing out. Investors estimate losses from the token activity alone at a minimum of €20 million.

The complaint says that in July 2025, while a probe was already under way, the accused removed $SHI liquidity from PancakeSwap. The removal is alleged to have caused the token’s price to collapse and trading to stop on exchanges; market figures show $SHI trading near $0.00003329.

Spanish police had opened a separate investigation into Shirtum before the new complaint. Barcelona’s Court of Instruction No. 5 continues its inquiry. The allegations in the complaint remain unproven and no convictions have been reported as the judicial process proceeds.