Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, is the latest president to face charges related to alleged bribery concerning payments made to a former refereeing official.
The club is currently under investigation for “active bribery” stemming from purported payments to the former refereeing vice-president, Enriquez Negreira. These payments are believed to have commenced in 2001 and continued until 2007. However, the statute of limitations for these alleged offenses has now expired.
The investigation centers on a total of 33 payments, amounting to €1.6 million, made to a company owned by Negreira between 2016 and 2018. Furthermore, the probe may extend back to 2008, coinciding with Laporta’s initial term as Barcelona’s president.
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Barcelona presidents and bribery scandal
Joan Laporta has become embroiled in the scandal, joining former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu and former directors Oscar Grau and Albert Soler.
Judge Joaquin Aguirre asserts that there is substantial evidence indicating that Laporta engaged in similar actions to his successors, involving substantial financial transactions with Negreira.
The statute of limitations in such cases typically concludes at the time of the last payment, which, in this case, is believed to be in the summer of 2018. Enriquez Negreira, vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), is considered a public official.
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Therefore, the statute of limitations for the offense of continued bribery is set at 15 years for him and his son, covering incidents dating back to 2003.
In contrast, for Laporta and his fellow Barcelona officials, the period in which they can be held accountable is limited to 10 years, allowing the investigation to encompass events from 2008 to the last alleged payment in 2018. The judge has highlighted that it has been established that these payments occurred over approximately 18 years and escalated annually. Negreira ceased receiving payments from FC Barcelona once he left his position as vice president of the CTA in 2018.
It is also worth noting that Negreira raised concerns by sending a burofax to FC Barcelona regarding the potential irregularities he was aware of, which could seriously impact the club.
The payments to him are reported to have grown from an initial sum of €70,000 annually to €700,000 over 18 years. The judge has suggested that the club may have gained preferential treatment from officials as a result of these payments.
