The Mossos arrest Josep Maria Bartomeu, former president of Barça

The former president of FC Barcelona, ​​Josep Maria Bartomeu, has been arrested this Monday as a result of investigations into the so-called

Barçagate,

the alleged defamation of players and opponents of the former president on social networks.

Along with Bartomeu, three people close to the former president have been arrested by the Mossos d'Esquadra: Óscar Grau, CEO of the Barça club;

Román Gómez Pontí, head of the legal services;

and Jaume Masferrer, presidential advisor.

The regional police also search the Camp Nou offices by order of the court, which investigates the former managers of the club for unfair administration.

En español

• Police arrest the former president of FC Barcelona, ​​Josep Maria Bartomeu

Earlier this Monday, the Mossos have entered the offices of the Barça club, as advanced by the SER chain and confirmed by this newspaper.

It is one of the five simultaneous searches ordered by the head of the court of instruction number 13 of Barcelona, ​​Alejandra Gil, who investigates the alleged damage caused to the club's assets by Bartomeu and the Barça leadership.

Investigators seek to corroborate evidence about a case that has been dubbed Barçagate.

The arrests, on the other hand, were not ordered by the magistrate, but have been decided by the police.

It is foreseeable that, once the searches are completed, all the detainees will be released, waiting to be summoned to testify before the judge.

For now, they remain at the Les Corts police station.

The operation comes in a key week for the future of the Barça entity, which next Sunday holds elections for the club's presidency.

Since the departure of Bartomeu, last October, a manager has held the reins of the club.

The

Barçagate

dates back to February 2020 when uncorked Cadena SER that the club had hired an outside firm, I3 Ventures, supposedly to improve the public image of the president Bartomeu.

I3 Ventures appeared associated with a series of defamatory accounts on social networks that spread messages against players at the club, and also against opponents of the management team and people around Barça.

The invoices paid to the company were cut, presumably, to avoid the club's control commission.

The dissemination of this alleged defamation strategy was one of the elements that made Bartomeu's presidency shake.

The bad relations of the star of the team, Leo Messi - who starred in a fight in the summer to leave Barça - and the worrying financial situation of the entity ended up causing a motion of censure against Bartomeu.

The initiative, promoted by the

Més que una moció

platform

, was never held due to the prompt resignation of the president, who was cornered by public opinion.

The judicial investigation began last June.

The magistrate admitted the complaint filed by the Dignitat Blaugrana fan platform for the alleged crimes of unfair administration and corruption between individuals.

One of the first steps agreed by the judge was to ask the club for all the information about the contracts with I3 Ventures.

ℹ️ FC Barcelona statement pic.twitter.com/EIMFeuPqJV

- FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) March 1, 2021

The Mossos already went, on July 5, to the club's offices to request the contracts.

The agents complained of the lack of collaboration with the judge, who has now ordered these new registrations that, this time, they have been able to be carried out correctly, as has been expressed by FC Barcelona in a statement.

The case remains under summary secrecy.

The magistrate agreed to it to avoid interested leaks and has extended it up to six times.

In a report, the Mossos found signs of corruption in the contracts signed by Barça.

The club allegedly paid a premium (six times the market price) to the I3Ventures company.

In addition, the internal controls established by the club itself were circumvented when the payment of one million euros was divided into invoices of 200,000 euros.

In that report, the police add that the dismissal of Jaume Masferrer, an advisor to President Bartomeu and one of those arrested on Monday, was "simulated."