Rugby Players Lose Millions in Failed €100m French Club Takeover Scam
Rugby players lost millions of euros in upfront payments tied to a failed 2021 takeover of French club Béziers, after a promised €100 million loan failed to materialize, according to investigations published by IOL, SA Rugby Magazine, and the Daily Voice. The funds were allegedly transferred to a personal bank account in Poland, triggering a criminal complaint in that jurisdiction.
The Mechanics of the Failed Béziers Takeover
According to an investigation by Brandon Nel and Xolile Mtembu published by SA Rugby Magazine, a former Sharks hooker joined a Zoom call arranged by long-time agent Anthony Johnson and attended by former Springbok scrum-half Johan Roux. The player stated he paid €120,000 across 12 separate installments after being promised a return of his principal plus €80,000 in interest within 30 days. Five years later, banking records and player testimonies confirm that none of the principal has been returned.
Bank records reviewed during the investigation showed the funds were channeled directly into a personal account held by Italian national Antonino Pane at Alior Bank in Warsaw. Pane is described in transaction documents as the chief executive of Eurokredit Merchant Bank. On one recording heard by reporters, Roux identified himself as part of Eurokredit Merchant Bank and instructed a player to complete the wire transfer.
Contrasting Accounts and Intermediary Claims
The financial architecture of the deal relied heavily on questionable paperwork and unverified institutional backing. Documents reviewed by journalists promised at least €1 million in trade credit insurance from a firm identified in the paperwork as “Heuler Hermes.” Subsequent checks revealed that no company by that exact name exists, though it closely mirrors the identity of established trade credit insurer Euler Hermes, which now trades as Allianz Trade.
The key figures named in the transaction have defended their roles or claimed victim status as fallout from the collapsed franchise purchase continues. Johan Roux maintained to investigators that the players’ capital served strictly as collateral to persuade a lending institution to release the broader €100 million loan, which ultimately stalled. Roux declined to disclose the nature of the collateral or the identity of its holder. Anthony Johnson, an agent accredited by the Rugby Football Union in England and a director of the SA Rugby Agents Association, asserted that he also lost approximately €100,000 of his own money in the venture. A third participant, former Bulls coach Rudy Joubert, stated that while he helped arrange meetings in France with the expectation of becoming club president, he did not handle financial transactions and lost roughly R500,000 on travel and legal expenses.
Legal Actions and Economic Fallout
As the legal ramifications unfold, affected athletes have pursued formal avenues to recover their capital. At least one player has retained legal assistance to open a criminal complaint in Poland, targeting the Warsaw-based account controlled by Pane. Meanwhile, corporate searches revealed that all eight South African companies where Roux is registered as a director are currently listed as deregistered or in liquidation, and Global Sport Capital is not registered in South Africa.
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