The president of FC Barcelona is facing fresh legal trouble. A court in Barcelona has summoned him to appear as a defendant in an alleged fraud case.
The Barcelona Court of Instruction number 22 has called Joan Laporta to court on January 16. The case relates to an alleged aggravated fraud worth close to €100,000.
Alongside Laporta, vice-president Rafael Yuste, economist Xavier Sala i Martin, and former TV3 director Joan Oliver have also been summoned as defendants.
According to a court order obtained by El Periodico de Catalunya (via SPORT), the alleged fraud involved two companies linked to the accused.
The investments were reportedly offered with a promised return of six per cent. The case was reopened after the Barcelona Provincial Court ordered the complaint to be investigated.
The victim in the case recovered only €12,500 from the original amount. This is now the third open case in which Laporta is being investigated for alleged fraud.
All cases are linked to Core Store and CSSB Limited. Several investors are said to have given money to these companies in exchange for high annual returns.
However, they reportedly received neither the promised returns nor their original investment.
The latest proceedings stem from a lawsuit filed after a documentary on the Reus case was aired. The victim contacted lawyer Pepe Oriola after recognising similarities with her own experience.
Court documents state the investments were promoted using the public reputation of those involved. So, the reputation played a key role in convincing the victim to invest.
The woman invested €50,000 in Core Store and later $54,000 in CSSB Limited. Also, she claims repeated requests for updates were met with evasive responses.
So far, no further payments have been made and the investigation remains ongoing.
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