Bartomeu investigated for commission payments

BarcelonaBarcelona's 16th investigating court has ordered the summons of former Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu as a suspect following a complaint filed by Joan Laporta's board alleging he paid him millions in commissions for signings, including those of Antoine Griezmann and Malcom. According to ARA, based on information provided by The World, Bartomeu, former CEO Òscar Grau, and former head of legal services Román Gómez Ponti will testify as suspects on October 24. Former vice president of sport Jordi Mestre and another former general director of Barcelona, Nacho Mestre, will also appear as defendants on November 7. Lawyer José Ángel González Franco, who was involved in Griezmann's signing, will appear on December 4 alongside his partner Domingo Goenaga.

Laporta, who filed this complaint more than three years ago, holds Bartomeu responsible for damage to the club that would amount to 30 million euros, according to his calculations, and based it on a report forensic Prepared by the Kroll detective agency, it was forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office. The crimes attributed to the former board of directors are disloyal administration, misappropriation of funds, and accounting fraud.

The signings of Malcolm and Griezmann are under suspicion.

The current Barça administration has denounced "33% commissions and companies that were created solely to generate revenue for Barça." An example is the signing of Brazilian Malcom, where they claim that a commission of 10 million was paid thanks to a contract "signed long after the signing was closed." Payments to lawyer González Franco were also reported, who is linked to a payment of "1.7 million" for closing the club's settlement agreement in the Neymar case, and who was also implicated in the collection of commissions for the Griezmann signing and in the receipt of abundant fees.

For Laporta, this complaint represents "a modus operandi"appellant to "avoid internal and statutory economic controls", and also included the "illegitimate payment" of 15 million euros to Atlético de Madrid through a "simulation of player testing" so that the club would not take to court the evidence it had that Griezmann had negotiated with Barça. procedure: "Is there any club in the world that does not pay commission to players' agents?" In addition, Bartomeu's legal representative has already asked the judge not to extend the investigation any further and has expressed astonishment at the fact that the proceedings were opened two years ago.