A Mossos report added to the ‘Barçagate’ summary, to which EFE has had access, states that “some journalists have received money from the club itself (FC Barcelona) at the behest of (Josep Maria) Bartomeu”, the former president of Barça , and that “he also directly intervened himself so that FC Barcelona formalized contracts with these people”.
In the aforementioned report, the Mossos state that “invoices were falsified to divert money to Bartomeu’s chosen journalists” and that “Bartomeu also directed outside companies to make payments to journalists on several occasions”.
They point in particular to the company Amalgama Marketing, led by Miquel Sambola, who in 2015, together with his brother Óscar Sambola and his father Miquel Sambola Puebla, participated in the election campaign of Bartomeu.
This company had a contract with FC Barcelona during Bartomeu’s tenure. In addition, Oscar Sambola and Miquel Sambola Puebla were the manager and honorary president of Club Esportiu Laietà when they received 1.5 million euros from the Barça entity for possible noise and dust pollution before the demolition of the Miniestadi. No one else was compensated for this concept.
The Catalan police believe that the journalists “could have collected part of their invoices through Amalgama at the suggestion of Bartomeu”. But he also mentions another company: Tormenta de Acero, led by José Marín Pasquín Comalrena de Sobregrau.
In addition, the report includes conversations found in the technological devices of those investigated in the ‘Barçagate’ case in which the journalists, according to the Mossos, “recognize defending Bartomeu’s interests and attacking rivals such as Joan Laporta (the current president) and Víctor Font (candidate in the last election)”.
These conversations take place between journalists Marçal Lorente and Albert Lesán, former president Bartomeu and Jaume Masferrer, his right-hand man. Bartomeu and Masferrer are two of those under investigation for possible unfair governance and corruption between individuals at ‘Barçagate’.
“Reports have been identified in which the former president of Barça allegedly designed a system to divert money to journalists. These payments were made through intermediary companies, with some transfers commissioned by Bartomeu, who also gave precise instructions on what the draft was that they should have the invoices,” the Mossos explain.
In one of the conversations between Marçal Lorente and Bartomeu, the journalist sends him an invoice for the company Tormenta de Acero and asks the former president to change the concept to that of a “four-month training period in business communication “.
“The drafts of the invoices are fictitious and even in some cases, the company commissioning Bartomeu to issue the invoice does not even exist during the period in which it theoretically provided the invoiced services,” the Mossos report notes.
For example, the police assure that “these are indirect payments that FC Barcelona would pay through external companies (prior transfer to the club) to promote Bartomeu’s digital reputation and attack his rivals.”
In this sense, she believes that the purpose of this practice is the same as that of the fake Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Nicestream company in the context of ‘Barçagate’.
In their conclusions, the Mossos believe that these facts can presumably constitute the crimes of unfair governance and corruption between individuals.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
