Court seizes assets of Maradona's lawyer, sisters in fraud case

Argentinian officials seized assets Thursday from two of deceased soccer idol Diego Maradona's sisters, as well as his attorney and three other individuals, alleging fraudulent management of the player's brand, according to a ruling obtained by AFP.

An appellate court in Buenos Aires has indicted Maradona's former lawyer, Matias Morla, and two of his assistants for suspected fraudulent handling of the player's assets.

Two of the Argentine player's sisters -- Rita and Claudia -- and a notary were also prosecuted as accomplices in the case. 

The court ordered seizure of $1.34 million (2 billion pesos) for all the accused.

Maradona's children have said his brand and its subsidiaries should have been transferred to them when he died in 2020 at age 60.

The court alleges Morla's brand management business was merely a front, and Maradona continued exercising control of his assets until he died. 

Under those conditions, the ruling says, the assets "immediately revert to his heirs."

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Two of Maradona's daughters -- Dalma and Giannina -- first brought accusations against Morla and other defendants in 2021.

The football star's three other children have since joined in the legal fight.

Maradona died while recovering from brain surgery.

He was found to have died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema -- a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs -- two weeks after going under the knife.

Another case determining if there was medical negligence in his death is awaiting retrial after a judge had to recuse herself based on involvement in a clandestine documentary. That trial was scrapped in May after two months of hearings.

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