Due to the lack of evidence that this crime was committed, the Court of Barcelona annulled the decision of the judge of the ‘Negreira case’ to investigate as a separate part whether José María Enríquez Negreira, former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) and his son laundered part of the money paid to them by FC Barcelona, proving the Barça club right.
As published by El Mundo, this is the resolution taken by section 21 of the Court of Barcelona in a decision in which it decided in favor of FC Barcelona, the former vice president of the CTA José María Enríquez Negreira , and his son Javier Enríquez. This means the reversal of the decision made in August 2023 by the head of the investigating court number 1 of Barcelona, Joaquín Aguirre, to open a separate case for a crime of money laundering that is now rejected by the National Court due to lack . of evidence.
The judge justified the opening of this separate piece by estimating that the facts about Barça’s payments to Negreira were “perfectly proven” and required a “not too long” investigation, focusing on knowing what they intended, while the case was due to money. laundering, the processing of the primary investigation may be longer and “unreasonably blocked”.
The Court agrees with the appeal of Negreiras, in which FC Barcelona joined, and highlights that in the same order in which the judge agreed to open the separate piece that it states that it is not known at that time what is the fate of these funds, which for the court “is equivalent to recognizing the lack of basis” of evidence of the crime of money laundering. “It does not appear from the case that a person acquired, owned, used, converted or sent assets knowing that they were derived from a criminal activity, so in the absence of indicative elements that provide -justified in the investigation of the crime of money laundering, the investigation is not applicable to the formation of a separate piece,” argued the Court.
After annulling the separate piece for money laundering, the Barcelona Court has not yet decided whether to withdraw Judge Aguirre’s decision to add the crime of bribery to the main case, which the magistrate added to corruption between individuals in the field of sports administration and falsification of commercial documents.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office filed the complaint in court for the 7 million euros paid by FC Barcelona to Enríquez Negreira and his son between 2001 and 2018. The Prosecutor’s Office distanced itself from the judge and supported the appeals presented of defenses before the Court so that the accusation of bribery is invalid, considering that the former vice president of the CTA does not have official status, key for this type of crime.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
