Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his former advisor Jaume Masferrer have been launched Tuesday after showing earlier than a decide investigating final 12 months’s ‘Barcagate’ scandal, a Spanish courtroom stated. The two males, who have been arrested on Monday, “exercised their proper to not converse”, and the decide granted them conditional launch whereas the investigation continues, the Barcelona courtroom stated in a press release. The courtroom stated the decide had sought to query them as a part of an investigation opened in May 2020 into the suspected crimes of false administration and enterprise corruption.
Two different membership officers additionally detained as a part of the operation which concerned a search of Barcelona’s stadium — the membership’s present chief govt Oscar Grau and its head of authorized companies Roma Gomez Ponti — have been launched late on Monday.
The operation comes lower than every week earlier than presidential elections are to be held on the membership.
The so-called ‘Barcagate’ scandal includes allegations that the membership coated up funds made to an organization known as I3 Ventures, employed to spice up the picture of the membership on social media.
Part of the social media marketing campaign included criticising present and former gamers like Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez, and iconic coach Pep Guardiola. Messi described the controversy as “unusual” in an interview with Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser claimed in February 2020 that Barca paid I3 Ventures an inflated charge and put funds by in smaller, separate quantities to keep away from the membership’s monetary controls.
Bartomeu maintained the corporate had been employed solely to watch posts on social media and introduced an inner audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which cleared the membership of economic corruption in July.
He resigned in October, avoiding a vote of no confidence triggered after greater than 20,000 membership members signed a petition in opposition to him.
His departure got here in the identical month Barcelona introduced losses of 97 million euros (114 million {dollars}) for final season and following a dramatic decline in performances on the pitch in addition to a private falling-out with Messi.
His successor is because of be elected on Sunday, when membership members will select between the ultimate three candidates, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font.
