The firm founded by Montoro also offered its services to the Generalitat

Barcelona / MadridThe Spanish elections had just taken place, and the PP was about to return to the Moncloa Palace when Cristóbal Montoro's future chief of staff, Felipe Martínez Rico, arranged a meeting with mid-level officials in the Catalan government. Martínez Rico leveraged his contacts within the Catalan government's economic team to offer them the services of the Economic Team (EE). From the Economic Team, he already knew he would end up in the Treasury and the minister's team, which it was also clear at that point would be Montoro. Sánchez-Camacho's relationship in the first months of the legislature, when budget cuts were the most dominant theme, made dialogue even more difficult following the PP's reaction to Artur Mas's pro-independence stance. The investigation also shows that EE invoiced several public entities, mostly governed by the PP. Xunta during the presidency of Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, worth €172,838, but also the Community of Madrid, which is the autonomous region that has worked the most with the firm founded by Montoro, with a turnover of €314,360, according to the summary. The Canary Islands, during the Coalición Canaria (CC) government, made a payment of €97,500. Smaller amounts were followed by La Rioja (€39,544.4), Castilla y León (€21,240), and Murcia (€21,181). Also included is the Madrid City Council, with €41,760, and Alcobendas, €12,000. The Lugo Provincial Council, controlled by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), made a payment of €34,220.

The reasons for these contracts are not clear from the case, to which ARA has had access. In fact, it does not specify the specific year, but rather the period: between 2008 and 2019, according to a report from the Tax Agency submitted to the case, which lists the payers.

In the case of the Catalan government, according to the sources consulted, it was also unclear which Economic Team services could be useful to the Generalitat. They were, however, given a book as a presentation on the evolution of the Spanish economy. The contact occurred, according to the same sources, because Felipe Martínez Rico was already an acquaintance of officials in the Ministry of Economy.

Contacts from the Aznar era

Both Felipe Martínez Rico and his brother, Ricardo Martínez Rico, who replaced him as head of the Economic Team when Montoro joined the Spanish government, had been in José María Aznar's government, with whom Jordi Pujol's last government negotiated an economic financing agreement. From that time, the Martínez Rico brothers had contacts in the Catalan government that they unsuccessfully tried to leverage to promote the Economic Team. This move fits with the hypothesis that both the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Tarragona investigating judge, Rubén Rus, have maintained throughout the investigation: that there was a close connection between the firm founded by Montoro and the entire team that later landed at the Ministry of Finance.

The Catalan government officials who experienced this episode with EE kept it in a drawer, not knowing exactly what the proposed collaboration entailed. A collaboration that seemed "strange" to them. However, with the outbreak of the case, everything has made sense.

The Mossos d'Esquadra investigation

The Tarragona court investigation, led by the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), revolves around payments made by various business sectors and administrations to the Economic Team. Investigators suspect that Montoro never truly disassociated himself from his office and that the money they received enriched the former minister and his partners through shell companies.

The investigation reveals at least two regulatory changes following the hiring of Equipo Económico by the gas sector that resulted in tax benefits for this sector of business: an 85% exemption from the electricity tax and a reduction in the business tax. However, the Catalan police also confirmed that there were contacts simulating the same sequence with renewable energy, gambling, and tobacco companies. What has been left out of the investigation, despite the insistence of those affected, such as former PP leaders Rodrigo Rato and Esperanza Aguirre, is the leak of tax data by Montoro. The judge in the case does not find any crime involved.