Birkirkara FC narrowly avoid transfer scam involving fake German football club official

Birkirkara FC has confirmed it narrowly avoided falling victim to an elaborate international football scam after receiving what appeared to be a record transfer offer for one of its Maltese international players.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the club said the proposal had been made by an individual falsely impersonating the sporting director of a German second-division side. The player was also contacted directly and presented with terms that “seemed difficult to refuse,” according to the club.

On Monday, NET News revealed how Birkirkara officials and the player worked closely in an effort to finalise what both believed was a legitimate move to a stronger European league, with significantly improved personal terms for the player. The player had even been scheduled to travel to Germany for medical tests.

However, suspicions were raised late on Tuesday evening when the club received a document that immediately appeared irregular. Further exchanges with the alleged sporting director led to the club being asked to pay a so-called temporary “transfer tax,” with assurances that the money would be refunded.

Birkirkara’s legal team, supported by lawyers from the European Club Association (ECA), quickly determined that the proposal was fraudulent. The club then contacted the German team directly, who promptly confirmed that no such negotiations had taken place and that a police investigation was already under way. The same club had received multiple reports of similar approaches targeting other European teams and agencies.

According to sources, the scammer had also convinced the player’s agent to commit to paying around €30,000 for supposed travel and medical-test expenses, with the understanding that the amount would later be reimbursed. The agent had no indication that the entire transfer process was a fabrication orchestrated by a criminal network.

A three-way call between Birkirkara president Michael Valenzia, the agent, and the scammer revealed the fraud after the impostor refused to switch on his camera. When confronted, the scammer reportedly laughed, admitted to deceiving the agent, and stated the money would not be recovered.

He then terminated the call and has not been reachable since. The club, however, avoided any financial loss.

This case is believed to be the first of its kind reported publicly in Malta and is expected to raise awareness among Maltese clubs when dealing with foreign intermediaries and officials.

On Wednesday morning, President Valenzia held a virtual meeting with the ECA — of which Birkirkara is a founding member — attended by senior officials from Barcelona and Stuttgart, both of whom were targeted in similar scams in recent months.

Sensitive information was shared among the parties in hopes of identifying the international criminal ring believed to be responsible for millions of euros in attempted fraud across European football.

Birkirkara thanked its legal advisors, ECA representatives and the German club for their cooperation, noting their collective efforts were “instrumental in safeguarding the club’s interests”.