Castelen, 42, was caught at Schiphol Airport in 2019 with €140,000 in his suitcase, which he said came from casino winnings and the sale of watches. The Public Prosecution Service believe that Castelen laundered the money with help from the technical director of the Chinese football club Zhejiang Yiteng, where he played in 2017.
Castelen says he got the money as a bonus for saving the club from relegation, while his attorney stated that it's "normal" for his client to walk around with thousands in cash after earning millions during his 18-year playing career. Castelen was allegedly taking the €140,000 to China to buy a watch.
The former Feyenoord and Hamburger SV winger had a three-year prison sentence demanded against him by the Public Prosecution Service, while alleged accomplice Owen B., who had fake contracts with Zhejiang Yiteng that were supposed to prove his work as a football scout, had an 18-month sentence demanded against him.
B.'s fake contracts are believed to be the tool Castelen and Zhejiang Yiteng's technical director used to launder the money.
Romeo Castelen made his professional debut in 2001 for ADO Den Haag and moved to Feyenoord in 2004, the same year he made his debut for the Dutch national team. Castelen ended his career in 2018 after having played 10 games for the Netherlands and appearing for HSV, Nizhni Novgorod, RKC Waalwijk, Western Sydney Wanderers, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Zhejiang Yiteng, and VVV-Venlo.