Cristóbal Montoro claims that the politicians of the Proceso had money in Andorra.

MadridFormer Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro's controversial appearance at the Congressional committee on Operation Catalunya was a source of controversy. Amidst attempts to divert attention, irony, and a boastful tone, he categorically denied that his department participated in the police maneuvers. patriotic against pro-independence leaders. The fact that fabricated police reports with information about fake accounts abroad were published had nothing to do with the Treasury, Montoro made clear. However, right from the start, he claimed that leaders of the Process had money in tax havens. "In Catalonia, you can't pay for public services, but there are politicians who shouldn't worry because they have abundant accounts, worth millions of euros, in the neighboring country. In Andorra," he hinted. The only thing that has been revealed is that former president of the Generalitat, Jordi Pujol, had one.

"He spoke in the plural, spreading shit against Catalan politicians. He didn't name any names!" rebuked ERC MP Pilar Vallugera. At that time, Montoro could only mention Pujol and his family and ended up rectifying his opinion, although at another point in the appearance he also referred to an account belonging to Artur Mas's father in Liechtenstein and insinuated that there had also been accounts belonging to Catalan politicians in Switzerland. "And the king? The Bourbon?" some deputies replied from their seats. "The tax authorities only go so far as they go," Montoro excused himself.

The former minister's appearance took place after RAC1 published last week some emails that would support the theory that the police patriotic and the CNI maneuvered to intervene in the Banca Privada de Andorra (BPA) in 2015 and that former Spanish president Mariano Rajoy was behind it. The motivation is said to be that the financial institution's managers refused to reveal that Catalan politicians allegedly had accounts in the Principality. "Who have we coerced? Who have we coerced?" Montoro asked angrily, describing the case regarding these events as a "false accusation," for which he is being investigated before the Andorran justice system, along with Mariano Rajoy and other former high-ranking PP officials. The procedure is now in standby, among other things, due to the passivity of the defendants. "You are a fugitive from justice!" exclaimed Junts MP Josep Pagès.

Precisely this Monday, members of the Andorran government at that time signed a joint article in the Andorra Diary In this article, they dismiss RAC1's information as "absolutely false." "The Andorran government was never part of any conspiracy or dirty war," they assert. Montoro referred to this by mockingly mocking the suspicion that he traveled to Andorra with Rajoy to pressure the BPA (Basic Bank of Andorra) with the help of the Andorran authorities, as claimed by the former heads of the financial institution, who initiated the complaint. "Between the fugitive [referring to Carles Puigdemont] and the banker, they form an extraordinary duo!" he stated, laughing ironically. The former minister noted that most of the meetings with his Andorran counterpart at the time, Jordi Cinca, were held because Andorra was working on a new tax system.

"The only" Catalonia operation

Montoro also had his own thesis prepared on "the only" Catalonia operation he believes has ever existed: the "rescue" in Catalonia. Thus, he recalled the implementation of the FLA and the establishment of controls over the application of the Generalitat's budget before 2017, until the total intervention of the autonomous community took place. Pagès (Junts) used this point to recall Montoro's statement on the eve of the referendum, in which he stated that "not a single euro" had been allocated to the October 1 referendum. The former Minister of Finance attempted to qualify this statement—he even acknowledged that the ministry's control over the Generalitat failed—and clarified that this statement is compatible with the Supreme Court's conviction for embezzlement.

The driving force behind the FLA, a solution he attributed to a "formidable fiscal crisis" caused by the tripartite government in the Generalitat, took the opportunity to attack the debt forgiveness that the Spanish PSOE government has now agreed upon with the ERC. Montoro also took the opportunity to oppose the special financing for Catalonia when Pagès asked him if the leaders of the 1-O referendum had access to the money before the State transferred it. "Of course not. That's why it's better not to give them the box!" he said.