Barçagate: why is a third company now being investigated?

A new development has come to light related to Barcelona’s payments to José María Enríquez Negreira, former vice president of the Referees Committee. Spanish newspaper El Confidencial have now revealed the involvement of a third company, Tresep 2014 SL, owned by the late Josep Contreras Arjona, a former director at the club who was arrested in 2018 for the misappropriation of funds during his time at the Catalan Football Federation. The Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating Tresep 2014′s accounts.

According to El Confidencial, the prosecution authorities suspect that, in addition to receiving payments directly from Barcelona, the companies belonging to Enríquez Negreira (Dasnil 95 SL) and his son, Javier Enríquez Romero (Soccercam SL), also received money from Contreras’ Tresep 2014. According to the Commercial Registry, Tresep 2014 SL was registered as a property developer on 14 August 2014 with €3,000 in capital.

Josep Contreras arrested in Soule case

Going back over the events that led to Contreras’ arrest, El Confidencial recalls: “In October 2018, the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard arrested Contreras for misappropriating the Catalan Football Federation’s funds in relation to a dozen projects since 2012. The total value of these contracts was around €10 million. Also implicated and arrested in the investigation was Andreu Subies, the then president of the Catalan Football Federation. The investigation was part of what is known as the Soule case, which led to the arrest of the then president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Ángel María Villar, in July 2017.”