FORMER Leeds United star Pawel Cibicki has been given a suspended prison sentence – after being found guilty of money laundering.
The Swedish striker spent three years at Elland Road following a £1.5million move from hometown club Malmo in 2017.
He played 10 times for Leeds without scoring, and went out on loan three times before leaving for Poland’s Pogon Szczecin.
But Cibicki received a four-year ban from football in 2021 after being found guilty of trying to fix a Swedish league game.
He went on to speak publicly about his problems with gambling addiction.
The 32-year-old joined Swedish club IFK Varnamo last year, but they cancelled his contract after it emerged money scammed from an elderly couple ended up in Cibicki’s bank account.
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And Malmo district court has now sentenced the former Under-21 international to probation, as well as ordering him to receive treatment for gambling addiction.
He has also been made to pay the couple involved 175,000 kronor – almost £15,000.
The court said Cibicki “has been indifferent to the effect of his actions.”
It added: “He cannot reasonably have perceived the situation in any other way than that was a considerable risk that the money transferred to his account originated from crime.
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“The purpose of the transfers was to hide precisely this.
“Cibicki’s lawyer told Swedish media that neither she nor the footballer had any comment on the verdict.
Cibicki joined Malmo in 2006 and played 81 times for the Swedish outfit before signing for Leeds.
He featured in ten games for the English team before being sent to Molde, Elfsborg and ADO Den Haag on loan.
Cibicki’s last club was Ekstraklasa division side Szczecin, where he played 19 times and scored three goals.
He was a Sweden youth international, picking up ten caps for the Under-21 side, but never played for the senior team.
