Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was arrested yesterday after Catalan police officers searched the La Liga club’s offices.
A regional police spokeswoman confirmed several arrests had been made following an investigation by the force’s financial crimes unit, without confirming the number of arrests made or their identities.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser said Bartomeu, the club’s president between 2014 and 2020, was among those arrested.
Barca said they were collaborating with the police and legal authorities into the investigation into the club contracting monitoring services on social networks.
“FC Barcelona expresses its utmost respect for the judicial process in place and for the principle of presumed innocence for the people affected within the remit of this investigation” added the statement.
Bartomeu’s lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment.
The investigation stems from the ‘Barcagate’ affair which was unearthed last year by Cadena Ser and revealed the club had contracted marketing consultancy I3 Ventures to monitor social media activity.
The revelations led to protests from supporters and to several board members resigning while increasing the pressure on Bartomeu, who eventually stepped down in October after facing a vote of no-confidence.
The club’s members will vote to elect a new president in next Sunday’s election, which was postponed from January due to COVID-19 restrictions in Catalonia.
 Presidential candidate Toni Freixa, a former director under Bartomeu, reacted to the arrest by saying on his official Twitter account: “Too many people want to cause damage to Barcelona. We won’t permit it. You’ll never walk alone.”
Front-runner and former President Joan Laporta added: “While he did not manage Barca well, it doesn’t change the fact he was Barca president and it’s not nice news to hear of.”
Part of the campaign included criticising current and former players, like Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez. Messi described the controversy as “strange” in an interview with Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
A club statement on Monday read: “Regarding the entry and search by the Catalan Police force this morning at the Camp Nou offices by order of the Instructing Court number 13 in Barcelona, which is in charge of the case relating to the contacting of monitoring services on social networks, FC Barcelona have offered up their full collaboration to the legal and police authorities to help make clear facts which are subject to investigation.
“The information and documentation requested by the judicial police force relate strictly to the facts relative to this case.”
Cadena Ser claimed Barca paid I3 Ventures an inflated fee and put payments through in smaller, separate amounts to avoid the club’s financial controls. 
Emili Rousaud, who resigned as Barcelona vice-president in March last year, said in an interview with RAC1: “If the auditors tell us the cost of these services is 100,000 euros and we have paid one million, it means someone has had their hand in the till.” The club took legal action against him. Rousaud was among six Barca executives to leave their posts, with a joint letter citing the controversy as a key issue needing to be resolved.
Bartomeu said the company had been hired only to monitor posts on social media and announced an internal audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which cleared the club of financial corruption in July.
“Let one thing be clear,” Bartomeu said. “To the question: Have we commissioned the monitoring of social networks? The answer is yes.
“To the question: Have we commissioned to discredit people or institutions through social networks? The answer is no and we will take action against all those who accuse us of that.”
Bartomeu resigned in October, avoiding a vote of no confidence triggered after more than 20,000 club members signed a petition against him.
His departure came the same month Barcelona announced losses of 97mn euros ($114mn) for last season and debts that had more than doubled to 488 mn euros.  As well as a series of political blunders, Bartomeu had also overseen a dramatic decline in performances on the pitch and a personal falling-out with Messi, who tried to leave for free last summer.
Messi accused the club of “always juggling everything and plugging gaps” under Bartomeu’s leadership.
Bartomeu’s successor is due to be elected on Sunday, when club members will choose between the final three candidates, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font.