Joan Laporta referred on Monday to the complaint filed by a Barcelona member, before the Audiencia Nacional, for alleged money laundering and collection of undue commissions by the former president and some members of his board. “All this is absolutely false. It is a judicial and media strategy to harm my interests and what I represent electorally,” said the candidate for the Barça presidency in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio.
It is a judicial and media strategy to harm my interests and what I represent electorally
The complaint by the member, revealed today by El Periodico, points to the existence of a network of companies based in Spain, Cyprus, Dubai, Croatia and Estonia in which allegedly undue commissions were paid in several operations carried out by the Laporta board, including the renewal of the sponsorship of Nike or the remodeling of the Spotify Camp Nou. The Audiencia Nacional will shortly assign the accusation to one of its judges and it will be the responsible magistrate who must decide whether or not to admit it for processing in order to initiate the investigation procedure on the serious facts denounced.
They have been trying to damage and tarnish this electoral process and Barca
Confidentiality of Barça’s contracts
Laporta denied all the accusations and pointed to a smear campaign to undermine his re-election as president as the cause of the lawsuit. “All this is absolutely false. It has happened to us before. It is annoying. This takes time and will be prolonged in time, unless the Court does not admit this complaint. I know what this is about. It is a judicial and media strategy to harm my interests and what I represent electorally. Everything is false. They make a stir-fry and put together a story that is not true,” he said.
These slanders will be duly answered. It is typical of this strategy that has long been defaming and something remains
“There is an interest in harming. We cannot present to the public certain contracts. Transparency has limits, which are the strategy of the club. If documents come out, they can harm the strategy of the club and there are also confidentiality clauses. Within these parameters, we can be as transparent as you want, but this is part of normal business life,” added the former Barcelona president
We cannot present certain contracts to the public. Transparency has its limits, which are the strategy of the club
The lawyer reiterated that he is still unaware of the details of the serious accusation: “We still do not know who has filed the complaint or the cost. I have seen the news. Everything is done with the will to harm and slander.”
We do not yet know who filed the complaint or the cost. I have seen the news. Everything is done with the will to harm and slander
Joan Laporta, who denied having made transfers to Dubai or Cyprus, did not rule out, however, actions regarding these accusations that he has just learned about: “These slanders will be duly answered. It is typical of this strategy that has long been defaming and something remains, in the line of harming us, both my candidacy and me personally. They have long been trying to do this, to harm and to dirty this electoral process and Barça,” said the former president
In addition to Joan Laporta, the complaint also includes some of the members of his previous board, such as former directors Rafa Yuste, Maria Elena Fort, Eduard Romeu and Ferran Olive.
Relationship with Messi
On the other hand, the former president also referred to the state of his relationship with the Argentine star and acknowledged that he was denied a greeting in 2023. “The relationship is not what it was. There was also an incident at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in which I went to greet him and he considered that we did not have to greet each other. From then on, there was some rapprochement and hopefully this will happen in the future. The relationship is damaged, but he is a myth of Barcelona,” said Laporta.
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