The Public Prosecutor's Office of the National Court requests that the complaint against Laporta be transferred to Barcelona.

Madrid / BarcelonaAccording to information obtained by ARA, the National Court prosecutor's office has determined that the complaint filed against Joan Laporta and other former Barça executives should be transferred to an investigating court in Barcelona. In its report, the Public Prosecutor's Office believes that the National Court is not the competent court to try the alleged crimes reported in the document submitted a week ago by the Barcelona member Isidro Navarro Gurumeta. The legal argument, as judicial sources have indicated to this newspaper, is that the reported events have a "territorial relationship" with the place where they allegedly occurred, which is Barcelona. Pending Judge Santiago Pedraz's decision, it is most likely that he will follow the prosecution's opinion and, therefore, conclude that the case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the National Court and transfer it to the Catalan capital.

In its report, the prosecution points out that the National Court only has jurisdiction when the reported crimes were committed entirely abroad, which would only apply to money laundering and document forgery, both of which are included in the complaint. Tax fraud, the illicit collection of commissions, and membership in a criminal organization were allegedly committed wholly or partially in Spain. In any case, Laporta and some of the directors who accompanied him during his last presidential term at Barça (2021-2026) will have to defend themselves against these alleged crimes if the lawsuit filed electronically last Friday by Isidro Navarro, a native of Toledo, is processed. The news has shaken the political landscape three weeks before the elections in which Laporta and his group are the clear favorites against other candidates. The elections will be held on March 15 and are already overshadowed by a legal process that could result in prison sentences.

In addition to Laporta, the complainant requests that the current acting president of Barça, Rafa Yuste, former institutional vice-president Elena Fort, former economic vice-president Eduard Romeu, former treasurer Ferran Olivé, secretary Josep Cubells, general manager Manel del Río, Mellado, head of purchasing César Martínez, presidential advisor Enric Masip, and chief of staff Manana Giorgadze be charged. The complaint also includes Xavier Laporta, brother of the candidate for re-election and owner of the company Capital Planet SL, which appears in the documentation submitted to the court and is registered at the same address on Barcelona's Diagonal Avenue where Laporta has his professional office. Among the facts presented in the lawsuit are alleged payments from Barça suppliers such as Nike and Limak to suspicious accounts located outside the European Union. According to the whistleblower, the money – millions of euros – was then brought back to Spain through supposedly legitimate businesses.