The head of the Court of Instruction number 2 of Tarragona, Ruben Rus Velawhich investigates whether members of the Economic Team office, founded in 2006 by the former Minister of Finance Christopher Montoro-, used his influence in the Government for the benefit of his clients, announced on December 12 to the investigators of the procedure his intention to claim the emails from the Ministry of Finance that The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office decided not to investigateas sources in the case explain to this newspaper.
The magistrate, always according to the sources consulted, communicated his decision at the meeting that took place on December 12 in his office at the Tarragona Courts, reported this Monday by this newspaper, in which, in addition to the representatives of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard and the Mossos d’Esquadra; Treasury officials and the two prosecutors in charge of the case were present: Carmen García Cerdá and the lieutenant prosecutor of Anti-Corruption, Antonio Romeral.
In this conclave, the strong differences in criteria between the prosecutors were evident when it came to setting the objective of this judicial investigation, which remains secret.
The content of these messages and their criminal relevance had been discussed last September in a meeting of Anti-Corruption prosecutors in which the majority of its members rejected the intention of the prosecutor in the case, who, given the discrepancies with her boss, Alejandro Luzonsummoned article 27 in order to investigate the content of the messages. This official considers that they could be indications that senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Agency could have committed crimes of revealing secrets during the term of Cristóbal Montoro.
Antonio Romeral
However, the majority of Anticorruption prosecutors supported their boss’s version, Alejandro Luzonwho decided to separate García Cerdá from that part of the case, which he entrusted to his ‘number two’ in Anti-Corruption, Antonio Romeral.
This editorial team was able to consult the content of several of these emails, which show that senior officials had access to confidential data of, among others, the co-founder of Podemos Juan Carlos Monederofrom the former president of Bankia Rodrigo Rato and the former president of the Community of Madrid Esperanza Aguirre.
Specifically, Montoro’s chief of staff at the Ministry of Finance, Felipe Martínez Ricosent on February 10, 2015 to an interlocutor, whom he identifies as “minister”, an email in which he included tax information of the co-founder of Podemos Juan Carlos Monedero.
Felipe Martínez Rico is the brother of Ricardo Martínez Rico, who was also Montoro’s chief of staff and who is accused in the Tarragona case. The managing partners of the Economic Team Manuel de Vicente-Tutor and Salvador Ruiz Gallud, who directed the Tax Agency between 2001 and 2004, also remain under investigation; as well as a secretary from the law firm.
Five years in secret
In the same sense, the former vice president of the PP Government Rodrigo Rato has denounced in his book ‘This is as far as we have come’ alleged irregularities committed against him by Treasury officials with Montoro as minister. Both Monedero and the former head of the Treasury have requested appear as injured in the case of Judge Ruswhich has recently agreed to maintain the secrecy of the procedure, which began more than five years ago.
Furthermore, the instructor has had in his possession since last May a voluminous report prepared by the Support Unit of the Tax Agency in which the content of several of the messages that were delivered by the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Agency to those responsible for the investigations is analyzed.
Related news
The document contains indicative conclusions about the messages that were delivered by the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Agency to those responsible for the investigations, the aforementioned sources continue.
The decision of the prosecutor García Cerdá to investigate a possible crime of revealing secrets has had consequences, since her boss, Alejandro Luzón, has promoted that the Tax Inspection open a file for disobedience.