More details emerge about Bartomeu’s embezzling of funds during Barcelona presidency | OneFootball

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has once again found himself in hot water after he was summoned by the 16th court of Barcelona.

This was in relation to allegations levelled by the Prosecutor, accusing him of embezzlement.

Bartomeu was accused of mishandling many transfers during his term, for his own financial gain.

Barcelona police uncover truth in Malcom case

Now, El Periodico reports that the Barcelona police have submitted an official report to the court revealing serious financial irregularities committed by Bartomeu’s administration during the transfer of Malcom in 2018.

As per the report, the Catalans paid around €10 million to a company named Business Futbol Espana (BFE) for “intermediary operations” between 2018 and 2020.

However, these services were later found to be unjustified or non-existent and were billed at prices far exceeding their market value.

There were many irregularities surrounding Malcom’s transfer to Barcelona in 2018. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

The police report also stated that Bartomeu’s administration had modified Malcom’s contract after the signing to avoid paying additional taxes.

A significant portion of the players’ agreed-upon fees was allegedly redirected to the intermediary company, which helped the club cut its tax obligation by nearly 50%.

The findings suggest that these actions were carried out deliberately to conceal the real cost of the transfer and benefit financially through inflated intermediary fees.

As a result of these irregularities, the current administration led by Joan Laporta was later forced to make a preemptive tax settlement to avoid a financial penalty from the Spanish treasury.

This latest finding certainly won’t help Bartomeu’s case, especially after the former Barcelona president came out with his own story, denying all the allegations.