Barcelona president denies scamming family of millions after winning lottery
Joan Laporta was heard in court this Monday, accused of a €4.7 million scam in a financial operation
The president of Barcelona , Joan Laporta, on the eve of traveling to Lisbon for the duel between Benfica and Barça in the UEFA Champions League , appeared this Monday at the Court of Instruction no. 6 in Barcelona to be heard following the accusation of crime of financial fraud, following a complaint from a family that in 2024 won the La Primitiva lottery, worth 34 million euros, and that would have lost around €4.7 M after being advised by Laporta on investments that did not yield the income they would have been promised by the culé leader .
Before the judge, Laporta denied the accusations of involvement in the situation and rejected having advised the family on the investment in question, after being heard for around 45 minutes.
The facts date back from 2016 to 2018. After winning the lottery, the family that reported the case invested €2.4 M in the Chinese company CSSB Limited, with the promise of earning 6% per year. He received dividends in the first few months, but not those promised and, after several meetings with Laporta to withdraw the amount invested, this request was not met by the Barcelona leader. Laporta rejected the accusations and guaranteed that he had “no participation whatsoever” in the case, which continues to be investigated, at a time when people are trying to understand whether the money actually went to that Chinese company or whether it was diverted.
