Barcelona president Joan Laporta summoned as suspect in Rs 96 lakh fraud case: Report

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has landed in legal trouble after a Spanish court summoned him in connection with an alleged fraud case worth around 91,500 euros (approximately Rs 96 lakh).

According to a report by Spanish news agency EFE, the Court of Instruction number 22 of Barcelona has called Laporta, vice-president Rafael Yuste and former club directors Xavier Sala i Martín and Joan Oliver to testify as suspects on January 16. The case relates to events that allegedly took place in 2016.

The court has admitted a complaint filed by an investor who claims she was misled into investing money in two companies - Core Store, based in Spain, and CSSB Limited, based in Hong Kong. All four individuals were linked to these companies at the time.

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What is the case?

According to the report, the woman invested 50,000 euros as a loan in Core Store in mid-2016, which promised a 6 percent interest rate. The company had plans to help promote football club Reus Deportivo from the Spanish third division to the second division.

She also invested another 54,000 euros in CSSB Limited, which aimed to set up a football training academy in China inspired by FC Barcelona’s famous La Masia system.

The complaint states that the projects appeared attractive not just because of the expected returns, but also because of the strong public image and reputation of the people involved. Laporta was listed as a joint administrator of Core Store along with Joan Oliver, who was also linked to Reus Deportivo and CSSB Limited.

Out of the total 104,000 euros invested, the woman reportedly recovered only 12,500 euros in August 2024, after making repeated claims over alleged breaches of contract by both companies.

After reportedly watching the documentary Laportagate – The Reus 2 Case and learning that others had faced similar losses, she decided to take legal action with lawyer Pepe Oriola, who represents multiple affected investors.

This is now the third ongoing case in which Joan Laporta is under investigation for alleged fraud related to Core Store and CSSB Limited. Laporta was also involved in another case in 2023 for suspected bribery involving referees in Spanish league.