One of the elements that are on the negotiating table between the PSOE and Junts in the face of the investiture is to stop the return of the alleged public money that was used to pay for the process claimed by the Court of Auditors (TCU). A question that seems complicated to solve, but that would be essential for the post-convergents to end up giving a yes so that Pedro Sánchez is president again.
Sources consulted by La Vanguardia explain that, although an amnesty law was finally approved for crimes related to the independence process, there are doubts that it could benefit the case pursued in the Court of Accounts as it is a return for use misappropriation of public funds. As it is not a crime or a sanction, but rather a mere repayment, these sources maintain that it seems difficult for it to be included in the effects of a hypothetical amnesty.
These are very high economic amounts that the Prosecutor’s Office reduced from almost ten million euros to 3.4 million and that those responsible for ordering the alleged payments for the 1-O referendum should return jointly and in solidarity, as well as foreign action to publicize the process. Among those affected are Carles Puigdemont, Artur Mas and Oriol Junqueras, as well as some thirty former senior government officials.
Sources of the cause remember that the matter is in a very advanced state. On November 17, the trial of the reinstatement procedure will be held in which the interrogations that were admitted in the previous hearing will be carried out and the conclusions of all the parties will be presented. These same sources explain that a possible solution would be for the Prosecutor’s Office to withdraw the claim to further reduce the money demanded of them.
However, this option does not guarantee that the court will attend to the request for a reduction from the Prosecutor’s Office because in the case it is represented as a public accusation by the Catalan Civil Society, which will always be able to maintain the initial amount it claims of five million euros against 11 former senior citizens. charges.
The defense is studying what other formulas can prevent the main pro-independence leaders from having to face with their personal assets the alleged use of money from the coffers of the Generalitat to sponsor the process. The sentence will have to be set by the counselor Elena Hernáez. Her decision may be appealed, and it is in this second phase, according to some sources, when there could be some room for manoeuvre. If not, all the letters would have to be left to the Constitutional Court, after passing through the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court.
This case is divided into two parts. On the one hand, it is being decided whether the heads of the Government in 2017 should return the money that was supposedly used to organize and celebrate the 1-O referendum.
The Supreme Court, in its 2019 sentence for which it convicted former Vice President Junqueras, and eight others for a crime of sedition in competition with another of embezzlement of public funds, already certified that an improper use of public money had been made to organize a illegal activity such as a self-determination referendum.
What the Criminal Chamber of the High Court did then was to leave the amount to be determined for its return in the hands of the Court of Accounts. This piece is joined by another accounting case opened by the supervisory body on the foreign action of the Generalitat, through which public funds would have been used to promote the process abroad.
The thirty defendants managed to overcome the first stake after the Court of Auditors accepted the guarantee of the Catalan Institute of Finances (ICF) to cover the bail of 5.4 million euros set by the investigator of the matter.
This endorsement was granted after the Generalitat itself approved by decree law a norm to allow it. Initially, the delegated investigator for the case rejected it on the grounds that the ICF could not endorse the defendants –among whom are Carles Puigdemont and Artur Mas– because their actions were willful, not reckless. However, the Chamber of Justice of the audit court agreed with the defendants and warned that the decree was in force and therefore its legality could not be questioned.
However, the decree determined that the ICF would only guarantee the bail, becoming the patrimonial responsibility of each of the defendants if they were finally convicted, which means that if they are found responsible, they must return all the money with their own assets to the Generalitat, even if the latter does not consider itself harmed.
