Laporta earns second court success as Barcelona judge dismisses latest fraud claim over Reus case

Joan Laporta has secured a second legal success in quick succession after a Barcelona court rejected a fraud lawsuit brought against the Barcelona president over investments related to Reus Deportiu.

According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Court of First Instance number 22 in Barcelona has dismissed a complaint filed by Maria Teresa Alibau Bach against Laporta, his vice-president Rafael Yuste, economist Xavier Sala i Martin and former Barcelona executive Joan Oliver, as well as the companies Core Store and CSSB Limited.

The lawsuit accused the group of fraud linked to investments made in Reus Deportiu. However, presiding judge Marta Buh ruled that the complaint did not establish any criminal conduct.

In the written judgment, Buh stated: “The lawsuit does not contain any elements that allow us to infer the existence of facts constituting a crime of fraud, and no intention has been proven to criminalise the transactions in the way claimed by the plaintiff.”

The case centred on two investments made by Alibau Bach in Reus Deportiu through the two mentioned companies. The court noted that the plaintiff herself acknowledged receiving the returns from the first investment.

As for the second investment, the court rejected the complaint on the grounds that there was no evidence of criminal activity linked to that operation.

This decision marks the second ruling in a short period to go in Laporta’s favour in the same wider legal dispute surrounding Reus Deportiu.

Earlier fraud action also rejected

At the beginning of June, the Provincial Court of Barcelona had already dismissed a previous fraud claim within the same file.

That earlier case was brought by former tennis player Albert Ramos, who accused Joan Oliver – the former Barcelona general manager and majority shareholder at Reus – of deceiving him in a failed business project.

Ramos alleged he had been misled over the commercial venture, but the Provincial Court rejected the fraud complaint and upheld the original investigating judge’s decision.

In that ruling, the court concluded there was no fraud, reinforcing the position of Laporta and the other individuals involved in the Reus-related proceedings.

Taken together, the two judgments significantly weaken attempts to pursue fraud allegations against Laporta and his associates over the investment operations tied to Reus Deportiu, with both courts finding no basis for criminal charges.