NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 26: SSC Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis celebrates the Serie A TIM victory during the SSC Napoli Trophy Parade on May 26, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by: Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Aurelio and Luigi De Laurentiis are at the center of an investigation by the Bari public prosecutor’s office into allegations of false accounting and fraudulent bankruptcy violations related to the management of the Serie C club.
The headquarters of Bari and Firmauro have been searched, and Bari’s sole director in Serie C, Aurelio de Laurentiis, and his son Luigi are being investigated on suspicion of false accounting and fraudulent bankruptcy.
Napoli owner De Laurentiis under investigation over Bari’s financial problems
Prosecutors also requested the initiation of judicial liquidation proceedings regarding Mr. Bari’s bankruptcy. The investigation began with an examination of the club’s financial statements, explanatory documents and management reports.
Investigators said the investigation revealed that Bari faced current losses of around 30 million euros between 2019 and 2025, and that it had significant capital shortfalls and debt exposure, with no credible restructuring plan in place.
Prosecutors believe that Bari’s poor financial situation was exacerbated by a series of suspicious transactions, including the transfer of Elia Capril.
The Italy international, currently at Cagliari, will join Bari from Leeds United in 2022, with the Italian club including a sale fee to Leeds in his contract.
However, when Caprile joined Napoli a year later, the transfer contract reportedly did not include a bonus to Bari for future capital gains.
Bari is said to have transferred all of the player’s future economic value to Napoli by waiving all rights to future capital gains, thereby exacerbating Napoli’s financial woes.
Caprile spent two seasons at Napoli, making just four appearances, before being loaned to Empoli.
The 24-year-old then moved to Cagliari, first on loan in January 2025 and then permanently for €8 million last summer.
Former Bari manager Ciro Polito, former Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli (currently at Atalanta), Mauro Meluso (Napoli sporting director for the 2023-24 season) and Caprile’s agent Graziano Battistini are also being sought in connection with the goalkeeper’s transfer, but no investigation is taking place.
Bari’s application for judicial liquidation was made following a technical analysis of the club’s financial statements for the period 2019 to 2025, with prosecutors claiming that SSC Bari suffers from “serious economic and financial imbalances that may jeopardize its continued operation”, as cited by Gazzetta.
Investigators claim the club has been able to survive thanks to extraordinary financial support from sole shareholder Phil Mauro, which included capital injections, debt forgiveness and a revaluation of the club’s trademark.
On the pitch, Bari were relegated from Serie B to Serie C for the 2025-26 season.
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