Court Orders Asset Seizure of Maradona’s Lawyer and Sisters Over Fraud Allegations

A Buenos Aires appellate court has ordered the seizure of assets belonging to Diego Maradona’s former lawyer, Matías Morla, two of his sisters, and three other associates, following allegations of fraudulent management of the late football legend’s brand.

According to the ruling obtained by AFP on Thursday, Morla and two of his assistants were indicted for suspected fraudulent handling of Maradona’s assets. The court also prosecuted Maradona’s sisters, Rita and Claudia, alongside a notary, as accomplices in the case.

The ruling ordered the seizure of assets worth $1.34 million (about 2 billion pesos) from all six accused.

Maradona’s children insist that his brand and subsidiaries should have reverted to them upon his death in 2020 at the age of 60. The court similarly argued that Morla’s brand management company was a front, as Maradona himself retained control over his assets until his passing. Under those conditions, it ruled, the assets “immediately revert to his heirs.”

Two of Maradona’s daughters, Dalma and Giannina, first filed complaints against Morla and others in 2021. His three other children have since joined the legal battle.

Maradona died in November 2020 while recovering from brain surgery. He was found to have suffered heart failure and acute pulmonary edema, a condition in which fluid accumulates in the lungs.

Meanwhile, a separate case to determine whether there was medical negligence in his death is still pending retrial. The initial trial, launched earlier this year, was scrapped in May after the presiding judge recused herself over involvement in a clandestine documentary.

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