The Balearic Government will appeal the decision of the judge investigating the Koldo case to leave them out of the case. Marga Prohens’ team had requested to appear as an injured party in this matter, but Judge Ismael Moreno has issued an order in which he indicates that the Balearic executive has not been harmed because the 3.7 million that the masks cost were paid with funds Europeans and not with money from the autonomous community. He considers, therefore, that there has been no harm to the administration but to the European Union.
The Balearic executive does not see it that way. The vice president of the Government and Minister of Economy, Antoni Costa, has announced that the Government will do everything possible to recover all of that money, not just the 2.6 million that were paid as an extra cost for the masks. Costa recalled that his department has decided to decertify the collection of the 3.7 million euros paid with FEDER funds to avoid losing more aid from the European Union if it concludes that this payment was fraudulent.
This means that the Balearic Government renounces the subsidy that was granted at the time, so in successive transfers of funds to the community that amount will be deducted. The community’s Lawyer will present an appeal to the judge with the certification of the Vice-Presidency of the Government in which it is proven that the Balearic Islands will not finally receive that amount corresponding to European funds because it has been renounced. That is to say, the Balearic Islands will ultimately end up putting the money in, not the European Union.
The Government of Marga Prohens is also studying presenting a new claim to the company Soluciones y Gestión, the one investigated in the plot, to request all of the money that they consider defrauded. Vice President Antoni Costa affirms that the Government has serious doubts that the previous claim, initiated by Francina Armengol’s team on July 6 and later processed by Prohens, can succeed.
Costa has mentioned that the certification that the masks were valid, which was made at the company’s request, complicates the claim for money being effective. In August 2020, the Balearic Health Service issued a certificate ensuring that the shipment had been satisfactory and correct despite the fact that the masks had previously been removed because they did not meet the technical conditions that had been requested.
However, the PSOE believes that the Government’s decision is nothing more than a measure to cover up the fact that Marga Prohens’ executive has let the claim lapse. The PSOE spokesperson in the Balearic Parliament, Iago Negueruela, has suggested that the executive has let the file expire after receiving pressure in that regard, something that he has described as “extremely serious.” Negueruela recalled that in the investigations opened by the National Court, recordings appear in which the members of the plot, including some who were part of Nuevas Generaciones, acknowledge that they have pressured the Government to let the file expire. In his opinion, that is what should be investigated and not the “hunt” against Francina Armengol.
