Avellino: 100 million seizure for De Cesare, patron of Scandone basket and Us Avellino

Avellino. Tax fraud: €100 million seized from Gianandrea De Cesare, owner of Sidigas, a natural gas distributor in Irpinia, and of the basketball and soccer teams. The Avellino Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) has executed an emergency precautionary seizure of €100 million against De Cesare and the group of companies linked to him. These include Scandone Basket, of which De Cesare has been president since 2012, and US Avellino, the soccer team promoted to Serie C this year, which he acquired last year. The charges include false corporate communications, failure to pay VAT, and fraudulent tax evasion. According to investigations conducted by the Guardia di Finanza and a consultant appointed by the Prosecutor's Office, De Cesare allegedly "systematically failed to pay tax debts, diverting them to other corporate assets at his full disposal." Among the recipients of the tax-deducted funds were the basketball team and the soccer team. In recent days, De Cesare had announced his intention to sell the two sports clubs to other entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, Scandone Basket has requested self-relegation from Serie A 1, where it had played for 19 years and had come close to qualifying for the championship this season. No concrete offer had been received to buy the soccer team. The order, signed by Chief Prosecutor Rosario Cantelmo, refers to the investigation coordinated by Deputy Prosecutor Vincenzo D'Onofrio.