BARCELONA - The arrest of a number of former Barcelona officials, including former Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu, has become one of the main issues in the news about the Catalan club. Bartomeu, and a number of former Barcelona top brass, are suspected of being involved in a financial scandal, which is often referred to as Barcagate.

Bartomeu's arrest, in the middle of last week, was a follow-up to the police's investigation into allegations of corruption and maladministration in the last agreement between Barcelona and a third party, I3 Ventures, which took place in January 2020. In the agreement, Barcelona is considered to have spent too much money.

This scandal, by the Spanish media, is often called Barcagate. In the latest development of the investigation into the Barcagate case, the flow of funds from Barcelona to I3 Ventures is suspected of going to an organization that opposes Catalan independence over Spain, Societat Civil Catalana.

Reportedly, I3 Ventures paid a sum of money to one of the Catalan companies, Telampartner. Payments are known to have been made regularly since the end of 2017, or when Barcelona first started collaborating with I3 Ventures, until January 2020, when the police began to detect allegations of corruption in the agreement.

“Telampartner's contribution to the agreement is still unclear, because the proof of payment only states the amount of money and the invoice number. Usually, these payments amount to about 16 thousand euros. In fact, in some cases, payments can reach 32 thousand euros, or double the previous figure, '' the EFE report wrote as reported by Diario AS , Saturday (6/3).

Telampartner is a company based in Barcelona, which is known to be engaged in communication. Previously, Telampartner admitted to having collaborated with I3 Ventures, but denied any direct involvement in the Barcagate case.

This statement has also been conveyed by Telampartner to the police. Telampartner's Executive Director, Jaime Malet Perdigo, and his partner, Javier Vega de Seoane, are known to be patrons of the Joan Bosca Foundation, whose main focus is to defend the values of the Spanish constitution. This foundation is considered to be an intermediary between Telampartner and Societat Civil Catalana, especially in terms of funding support.

Societat Civil Catalana is a grassroots organization formed in 2014 and based in Barcelona. This organization promotes issues of unification between Catalan and Spanish, with the main slogan, "Better, Together". This organization is also considered as an organization that opposes the Catalan pro-independence movement from Spain.