Vox will chair the commission created in the Balearic Parliament to investigate the case of the masks. The Government of Francina Armengol paid 3.7 million euros to the company Soluciones de Gestión, currently investigated by the European Prosecutor’s Office, for the sale of this material since the payment was made with European funds. The commission was created this Tuesday in Palma at the request of Vox, which has achieved the support of the PP in its request.
The parties now have one week to present their work plans, but so far there are already several certainties: Vox will request the appearances of the current president of Congress, Francina Armengol, who was the president of the Balearic Islands when the contract was made. He has also decided to call former Minister José Luis Ábalos and his advisor, Koldo García, one of the main people investigated in this case. The PSOE denounces that PP and Vox already have the conclusions made before the work begins.
The Armengol Government purchased 1.4 million masks in April 2020 from the company Soluciones de Gestión for a total amount of 3.7 million euros. When the material was examined, it was found that it did not meet the payment conditions, but the Balearic Government still issued a certificate validating the purchase.
The masks were not FFP2, they were left in a warehouse and never used. On July 6, 2023, three years after the purchase and the last day that Francina Armengol presided over the community, a proposal to claim the overpaid money, a total of 2.6 million euros, was signed. It is not yet known who Koldo García spoke to to offer this material.
In the recordings made by the researchers, there is evidence of the pressure that the current Government of Marga Prohens received so that this claim did not prosper. The judge of the National Court believes that the pressure had an effect because the claim may have expired.
Whether or not the file expires is another issue that the PSOE wants to investigate during the course of the commission. The socialist spokesperson in the Balearic Parliament, Iago Negueruela, has been reiterating for weeks that the Prohens Government has intentionally let the file expire and believes that the current Balearic president must also give explanations in the investigation commission.
The Prohens Government denies this and points out that the file is still alive despite the fact that in the communication to the company they were notified of an expiration period of three months, which would have already expired. However, those currently responsible for Servei Balear fe Salut have announced that they will withdraw this claim because it does not have much chance of succeeding. In exchange, they have started a new one to recover all of the money paid and not just a part.
