As per an investigative report published by Marca, more details have appeared about the IV3 scandal involving former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Three workers from IV3 has spoken out about the issue.
According to the testimonials of three workers Barcelona’s higher management hired the company to defame popular figures close to the club such as Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. They have also revealed that the extent of the work carried out involved deleting employee emails and clearing out computers.
All the three workers that have talked were required to sign confidentiality agreements to protect their identities. According to the report published by Marca:
“Two of those testifying, known as M.B.R. and O.P.S., stated that an IT expert from South America visited the company to check if any information had gotten out.
Staff were told that all of this was because of a cyberattack, but those testifying have said that these measures took place just after the controversy emerged in the press.”
O.P.S has said that studies into Bartomeu’s image were carried out regularly and that these were presented more often that those looking at the club itself, while other reports were made about electoral candidates Victor Font, Joan Laporta and Toni Freixa.
Given that the amount of information that is being uncovered is rising at a fast pace, the judge assigned to the case has decided to delay the investigation by six months.