Laporta Faces Court Again: Fraud Probe Ties to Barcelona’s Investment Ventures
29 December 2025
Background
Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, finds himself once again facing the Spanish judiciary as the Court of Appeals No. 22 in Catalonia formally summons him to testify as a fraud suspect on January 16.
According to the Spanish sports daily Mundo Deportivo, the summons is part of an alleged fraud case valued at 91,500 euros, also involving current vice-president Rafa Yuste and former Barça executives Xavi Sala and Juan Oliver.
The crisis traces back to mid-2016, when a woman lent 50,000 euros as a 6% loan to Core Store, a company marketing an investment plan intended to lift Reus Deportiu to the second tier.
She also invested another 54,000 euros to buy shares in CSSB Limited, which aimed to create a training academy in China modeled on Barcelona's La Masia.
The complaint states that beyond expected profits, the main motive behind the investment was the reputation and standing of the participants, including Laporta, described as prominent and widely recognized in both sports and business.
LAPORTA reportedly served as joint director of Core Store alongside Juan Oliver, who was general manager in Laporta's first tenure as Barca president, the executive of Reus Deportiu until its dissolution, and the legal representative of CSSB Limited.
Despite a total investment of 104,000 euros, the investor recovered only 12,500 euros in August 2024 after a series of lawsuits due to ongoing contract breaches by the two companies.
The investor decided to go to court and hire lawyer Pep Oriola, who represents other victims, after watching a documentary exposing other people who suffered similar failed investments in the same two companies.
This case marks the third of its kind in which Laporta is investigated for fraud related to his activities with Core Store and CSSB Limited.
Punchline 1: If fraud were a transfer, this case would be a yellow card with a stopwatch.
Punchline 2: In football and finance alike, sometimes the real referees are the lawyers who keep replays coming.
