John Laportaoutgoing president of FC Barcelona and currently a pre-candidate in the electoral process, has been denounced along with his management team by a partner before the National Court. Accused of collecting illegal commissions and money launderingAmong other crimes, the former leader defends himself by claiming that it is slander. On the other hand, the current manager of the club has issued a statement in which she defends herself by ensuring that the complaint is based on false documentation.
In a statementthe club assures that “the documents on which” the accusations are based would have to “be false and/or manipulated“. According to ‘El Periódico’, the letter details a series of operations and economic transactions abroad. In addition to Laporta, those accused also include a good part of his management team, from the acting president Rafael Yustesuch as Maria Elena Fort, Ferran Olivé, Josep Cubells or the former economic vice president Eduard Romeu.
The complaint also extends to Manel del Río, then financial director and now general director; Sergi Atienza, head of the compliance department; Lluís Mellado, head of legal services, as well as the brother of Laporta, Xavier Laporta Estruchpartner of the Laporta & Arbós firm, as well as two administrators of companies involved and an intermediary.
According to the same information, the complaint was filed late last Friday in the duty court of the Central Court of Instance of the National Court and has been accompanied by 38 documents, including “business information and press articles about the operations (Nike and construction of the new stadium)” on which the accusation pivots.”
In the coming days, the National Court must proceed to distribute this complaint among the judges assigned to this judicial body and then it will be the magistrate to whom it corresponds who will decide whether to admit it for processing or reject it.
“Network of opaque societies”
In the writing, according to ‘El Periódico’, it is detailed “a network of companies” based in Spain, Cyprus, Dubai, Croatia and Estonia, which it defines as a “structure” of “improper commission charges” that were paid in “opaque jurisdictions”. These funds, always according to the complaint, were reintroduced and laundered through “apparently legitimate businesses.”
In a statement to ‘Catalunya Radio’, Laporta commented that the complaint was made based on “press clippings” and warned that “slander will be denounced”.
“They sent me a message that it had occurred. They have been trying to dirty the electoral process for a long time, Barça…and the strategy was media and now it is in a judicial dimension,” said Laporta, who insists that everything is “false” and relates it to a “media, judicial and electoral” strategy.
Laporta believes that there is an interest in harming him, just at the beginning of the electoral race to be re-elected as president. “We cannot publish the contracts due to confidentiality agreements. In these parameters we can be transparent. We do not know who has filed the complaint and everything is done with the intention of slander,” he insisted.
Furthermore, he recalled that “Sociological Real Madrid fans don’t like it at all” that he is president and has commented that he wants to know who filed the complaint to counteract it, because it involves “slanders that are absolutely false.”
“It was to save Barça”
Laporta maintains that everyone The agreements signed have been made to “save Barça” and he has given as an example the agreement reached with the company New Era for the sale of VIP boxes in the stadium, an operation that allowed Olmo to register, as he recalled.
Regarding the commission of Darren Deinwhich he received 50 million of euros for its intermediation in the renewal contract of NikeLaporta has insisted that thanks to this management Barça was able to sign with the boomerang brand, after the relationship was “destroyed and in court.”
“Dein brought the offer from Puma. At that time we had already broken up with Nike. The commission as an intermediary is paid in 14 yearsis paid between Barça and Nike. “It’s all about shit,” he said.
About the contract with the Democratic Republic of the CongoLaporta has commented that the FC Barcelona Foundation will carry out “an action” on the field because the Barça club wants to “improve people’s lives who are in a difficult situation.”
“It was a 44 million contract, it had to be done. I have no regrets because it has been good for the economy. We have arguments to respond to everything,” he concluded.
