The Ministry of Finance dismisses two officials charged in the Montoro case.

Barcelona / MadridThe Montoro case has already claimed active positions at the Spanish Tax Agency. This Friday, First Vice President and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero (PSOE), dismissed the Deputy Director General of Local Taxes, Óscar Del Amo Galà, as well as the current Economic and Financial Director of Lotteries, Rogelio Menéndez, according to ministry sources confirmed to ARA. Both are accused in the Montoro case, which investigates an alleged "influence ring" led by former minister Cristóbal Montoro. According to the Tarragona court investigating the case, the former minister and other former high-ranking officials amended tax laws to favor companies, such as some gas companies in Tarragona. The reforms would have served to save taxes, and in return, these companies would have made covert payments through the private consulting firm, Equipo Económico, founded by Montoro himself in 2006. Del Amo already held the position of Deputy Director General of Local Taxes during Rajo's first government. Montoro was in charge of the Treasury. As for Rogelio Menéndez, he was an advisor in the Treasury Ministry's cabinet between 2013 and 2015. He is also the brother of another of the accused: Santiago Menéndez, Director General of the Tax Agency between 2013 and 2018, therefore also during the government.

The dismissals come at a time when the PSOE has seen in the Montoro case an opportunity to strike back at the PP following the barrage of accusations surrounding the Santos Cerdán case. In fact, Alberto Núñez Feijóo's first words on Thursday regarding the case aren't enough for the Socialists. "That's the hypocrisy we have in this country. When there's a case of corruption that affects our community, we apologize and demand public accountability, we act, and expel people from the party. And when there's a case of systemic corruption, [in the PP] they don't even know the people accused," complained Vice President María Jesús Feijóo.

Feijóo breaks the silence

Feijóo has broken his silence 48 hours after the case broke. Besieged by the PSOE's offensive, which accused him of not making a move after the indictment of the former Minister of Finance, the leader of the PP has reacted with a message on the social network X: "What needs to be investigated, let it be investigated." Feijóo assures that this is his "criteria" on corruption regardless of who it affects and, in a dart to the socialists for the alleged plots that affect them, adds: "I am not going to talk about persecution of judges or pseudo-media."

But the reality is that the reaction has taken two days and, until now, the popular ones had limited themselves to disassociating the party from the alleged maneuvers of Montoro and his team to promote legislative changes that benefit companies. TheThe former head of the Treasury resigned from the party yesterday, Thursday., which had merely opened an "information procedure" related to the case. The conservatives, in fact, focused on emphasizing that Montoro left the Spanish government "more than seven years ago" and that he "has no working ties with Feijóo's team or the current PP."

But, according to information fromThe IndependentFeijóo turned to members of former minister Montoro's team for advice two years ago. Among the most prominent names is one of those indicted by Tarragona's investigating court number 2, former Secretary of State for Finance Miguel Ferré, who held a "decisive position" in the plot, according to the judge who charged him. Furthermore, in the last renewal of the Popular Party leadership, the party leader appointed Alberto Nadal as deputy secretary of economy. Nadal was Secretary of State for Budgets at the end of Montoro's term, although he is not currently among those indicted by the Tarragona judge.

Feijóo's statement, however, comes on the same day that new information about the case has emerged, suggesting that Montoro would have received confidential information from the Tax Agency regarding politicians, celebrities, and journalists. He also claimed that payments to his Economic Team office, through which companies allegedly tried to influence the Ministry of Finance, had come from electricity and renewable energy companies, in addition to the gas companies already mentioned by the judge. He also claimed that Rajoy's ministers had already warned him that the consultancy founded by Montoro was acting as a lobbyist.