An independent panel found that City arranged commercial deals it described as "sham" transactions, artificially inflating the club's reported finances by more than £900 million, according to the Financial Times. The Premier League's confirmation, reported by the BBC, settles the question of culpability that had hung over the club since the charges were first laid. Every count was upheld.
The mechanism matters because Premier League financial rules exist to stop clubs disguising the true source of their funding — to prevent owners from injecting money in ways that make a club appear self-sustaining when it is not. If the panel found the deals were constructed to mislead, it means the financial picture City presented to the league across nearly a decade did not reflect reality. Other clubs competing for titles, European places and commercial revenue during those seasons did so against an opponent whose reported finances were, on the panel's findings, a fabrication.
What remains open is the penalty. The panel's verdict is confirmed; the sanction is not. A points deduction, a fine, expulsion from the league — all remain possible depending on the rules that govern punishment. The size of the figure involved and the span of years covered suggest the determination of consequences will be neither quick nor simple.
Sophia Borg 
Isla Camilleri 
Ryan C