Players say millions vanished after promised €100m Béziers takeover fell through

Rugby players say they were persuaded to invest hundreds of thousands of euros in a proposed takeover of French club Béziers, but the promised €100 million loan never materialised and the purchase did not happen. According to IOL, the money paid by players was transferred into a personal bank account in Poland and a criminal complaint has been opened in that jurisdiction.

Players paid upfront to ‘unlock’ a loan

Players told IOL they were asked to pay large sums upfront to ”activate the collateral” for a planned €100m loan that would be used to buy Béziers. The payments were pitched as short-term advances that would be repaid with significant interest within weeks.

One former Sharks hooker said he paid €120,000 after a Zoom meeting arranged by agent Anthony Johnson, which Johan Roux then joined. The player said he has received nothing back and, with legal assistance, opened a criminal complaint in Poland.

Recordings, agreements and transfers

According to IOL, investigators reviewed recordings, signed agreements and bank records linked to the deal. On a recording heard by IOL, Roux said he was part of an entity called Eurokredit Merchant Bank and asked the player to transfer €120,000.

IOL reports the account into which at least one player’s money was paid was held in the name of an Italian national, Antonino Pane, at Alior Bank in Warsaw.

Promised insurance and questionable paperwork

An IOL investigation, based on the signed agreement, bank records, five years of correspondence, company records from three countries and three recordings, found the deal promised at least €1m insurance from a company named in the agreement as “Heuler Hermes”. According to IOL, no company by that name exists; the trade credit insurer matching the description is Euler Hermes, now trading as Allianz Trade. IOL has asked whether any policy was ever issued in connection with the deal.

Claims and denials from those involved

Roux, a former Springbok scrum-half, told IOL that the players’ money was used as security to persuade a bank to release the larger loan, and that the loan was never released. He declined to disclose what the collateral was or who was holding it.

Johnson, who is accredited as an agent by the Rugby Football Union in England and is a director of the SA Rugby Agents Association, told IOL he had lost money in the deal and said he was in the same position as the players he introduced. According to IOL, Johnson supplied proof, on condition it was not published, of payments into Pane’s Warsaw account.

On a recording heard by IOL, Roux named three men he said were working on the transaction: himself, Johnson and Rudy Joubert. Joubert told IOL he helped arrange meetings in France and expected to become the club’s president; he said he had not been part of the financial transactions.

Broken promises and unanswered questions

Letters and messages seen by IOL show repeated delays and shifting explanations for non-payment, with correspondence attributed to Pane and forwarded by Roux. Promises mentioned other incoming investments, bonds and business deals that did not materialise.

All eight South African companies Roux is registered as a director of are listed as deregistered or in liquidation, and IOL reports that Global Sport Capital is not registered in South Africa.

Legal steps and ongoing inquiries

According to IOL, a criminal complaint linked to the matter has been opened in Poland. IOL said it has sent questions to Pane and to police in Poland.

The players, and those they named as intermediaries, told IOL they had not been contacted by law enforcement and said they believed they had become victims as well as participants in the scheme.

What the documents show

• Players were asked to pay upfront to unlock a proposed €100m loan for a Béziers takeover.
• Payments were directed to an account in Warsaw in the name of Antonino Pane, described in documents as the chief executive of Eurokredit Merchant Bank.
• Agreements referenced an insurer named “Heuler Hermes”; IOL found no such company and queried whether any policy existed.

Where things stand

The proposed takeover of Béziers did not occur and the €100m loan was never released. Players who say they paid into the scheme have not been repaid, and questions remain about the flow of funds and the parties behind the arrangement.

“It is a f—ing s—show,” the former Sharks hooker told IOL after paying €120,000, according to IOL.

Further enquiries are ongoing and IOL has sought confirmation about insurance policies and other documentary details related to the transactions.