Laporta to appear in court over alleged use of credibility to attract investors | OneFootball

Barcelona president Joan Laporta will appear on Friday before Barcelona’s Investigating Court number 22 over allegations he used his professional and business credibility to attract investors via Core Store and CSSB Limited.

According to Superdeporte, Barcelona vice president Rafael Yuste is also due to give evidence. Economist Xavier Sala i Martín and ex Barcelona executive and former CF Reus owner Joan Oliver were cited but not located, though they could still attend.

The four are accused of defrauding about €100,000 from an investor represented by lawyer José Oriola, who invested for a six percent return and recovered €12,500. Further complaints allege high yields never materialised and funds were not returned.

Investigators are reviewing brochures naming them in projects, including a CSSB Limited plan to buy lower tier Chinese club Beijing Institute of Technology and supply it with a Barcelona style academy, echoing a model used at Barcelona and replicated at CF Reus, which later disappeared after poor management.

The complainant went to court after watching the documentary Laportagate, El caso del Reus 2 by Andreu Rauet. Laporta also faces two further proceedings linked to CSSB Limited, with three courts examining offers of six or seven percent annual returns.

Other probes include an alleged €4.7 million fraud against a €34 million lottery family, a €50,000 2016 investment tied to Beijing Institute of Technology that yielded only a share certificate, and tennis player Albert Ramos’s €100,000 at six percent, with payments halting in 2017. Laporta has testified as a witness and distanced himself from CSSB Limited.

Spain’s tax agency is examining CSSB Limited and Core Store transactions with China for possible tax fraud, flagging up to €6 million in potentially irregular operations.

Source: Superdeporte