England’s top soccer league has found itself caught up in a crypto investigation. On Tuesday, reports emerged that the U.K.’s National Crime Agency has frozen £10 million (around $13.5 million) held in a bank account linked to the Premier League.
The Sun first reported the news and disclosed that the investigation was part of an inquiry involving crypto gaming platform Sorare. The NCA did not specify what crimes it was investigating in connection with Sorare. It said only that it is looking into possible links between Sorare’s payments under a licensing deal with the Premier League and alleged criminal activity by third parties, according to the news report. Authorities froze the money to prevent it from being transferred as the investigation continues.
When contacted by Fortune, Sorare denied being involved in the inquiry.
“Sorare is not the subject of an investigation by the National Crime Agency. The freezing order reported in the press concerns funds held in an account which does not belong to Sorare, and Sorare is not a party to those proceedings,” a Sorare spokesperson said.
Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia struck a similar tone on social media, calling the initial reports “inaccurate.”
The Premier League declined to comment.
The investigation came almost three months after the Financial Conduct Authority, the U.K. regulator for financial firms and markets, warned soccer clubs—especially those in the Premier League—not to put fans’ money at risk through sponsorship deals with firms that lack authorization to operate in the country, including crypto companies.
“Clubs should not let unauthorized financial firms exploit that loyalty by putting potentially dodgy products in front of millions of fans,” Lucy Castledine, the FCA’s director of consumer investments, said in a June press release.
Founded in Paris in 2018, Sorare rose to prominence during the NFT boom. The company built a fantasy sports platform around blockchain-based digital player cards and, in 2021, raised $680 million in a SoftBank-led round that valued it at $4.3 billion.
In 2023, Sorare and the Premier League signed a four-year partnership deal worth $140 million that granted Sorare the right to release digital cards featuring players from all 20 Premier League clubs for its platform. In return, the league’s clubs were scheduled to receive payments based on player card usage. The first payment Sorare made is the one currently frozen by the NCA.
The deal received heavy publicity. Soccer stars including Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, along with tennis champion Serena Williams, served as ambassadors for Sorare. The partnership officially wrapped up at the close of the 2025–26 football season.
Sorare faces a separate case brought by the U.K. Gambling Commission. In September 2024, the regulator charged the company with offering gambling services without the required operating license—its first prosecution of a blockchain-based platform under the country’s 2005 Gambling Act. The trial is scheduled for next June, and Sorare has denied wrongdoing.
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