Barcelona president Joan Laporta says previous board could face criminal charges

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed the club's previous board could face criminal charges for the misappropriation of funds and false accounting.

Laporta said a third-party forensic investigation into the club's finances revealed that the previous board, presided over by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, made unjustified payments to journalists and lawyers as well as paying commission of over 30% to some agents when the industry standard is around 5%.

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Barca estimate the cost of all these payments to the club is around €30 million, with Laporta suggesting they «might also constitute cases of unjust [personal] enrichment that require further investigation.»

The Catalan club filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office in Barcelona on Wednesday and have been looking into possible financial crimes since Friday.

«The members have the right to know the actions that have led the club to a ruinous situation,» Laporta said in a news conference on Tuesday. "[A third-party investigation] has revealed a series of operations of considerable economic irrationality and, in short, unjustified payments, falsely justified payments or payments of disproportionate amounts.

«When the administration of a social entity presents such overwhelming suggestions of mismanagement, the criminal justice system is called upon to investigate and clarify any possible illicit diversions, abuses or enrichment.»

Laporta did not detail specific cases but said there was one «dubious» payment made to a lawyer through a player as a way of disguising the transaction. Payments to third parties were also broken into smaller amounts to avoid