Before the judge, Laporta flatly denied knowing the plaintiff investor and maintained he never signed any contract on behalf of the companies Core Store (Barcelona) and CSSB Limited (Hong Kong), which were used to raise funds for projects like the promotion of Reus Deportiu and a football academy in China.
The Barça president stressed that he disassociated himself from Core Store in 2019 and pointed to Joan Oliver, former Barça director, as the person responsible for managing those operations. He also admitted that Core Store is currently under investigation by the Tax Agency.
“"What we are facing is a contractual breach, but in no case a fraud or deception."
The plaintiff's lawyer, Pepe Oriola, insisted that they will provide documents bearing Laporta's signature and announced plans to request a six-year prison sentence for Laporta and the other investigated parties, including Vice President Rafael Yuste and economist Xavier Sala i Martín.
This is one of three open cases against the FC Barcelona president. He is also being investigated for an alleged 4.7 million euro fraud against a lottery-winning family, and for another 50,000 euro complaint from an investor related to the Beijing Institute of Technology.
