Thus Montoro's partners try to derail the case

MadridA written procedural battle. This is what the investigation into the Montoro case has become, which in recent weeks has been a constant tug-of-war between the defenses of the investigated and the accusations. “It’s a mess. We are flooded with appeals,” complains one of the parties in the proceedings to ARA. And it is that, through a battery of “cascading” appeals, the lawyers try to stop the investigation by attacking it mainly on four elements: the accidental discovery that originated the case, the jurisdiction of the courts of Tarragona, the duration of the secrecy of the summary, and the last extension of the investigation. And all this, added to other obstacles that have appeared, makes the course of the investigation difficult. What is being investigated is the payment of bribes by certain gas companies in exchange for Cristóbal Montoro, who was Minister of Finance, promoting legislative changes in the Congress of Deputies to benefit them.

In a document, to which this newspaper has had access, the Prosecutor's Office laments that, in a “escalated” manner, the defenses have filed “ingent” and “massive” appeals asking for the nullity of the case “for any reason”. And it reproaches them for having used not only appeals, but also adhesion documents and adhesions to adhesions. A circular loop that, added to the multiplicity of popular accusations, is not making it easy. The Adive association criticizes them for making a “global disqualification” that seeks a “integral demolition” of the case “without due argumentation”. And FETAP-CGT expresses itself in the same terms: “The avalanche of appeals delays the course of the proceedings and hinders the management of the case”. All this leads the Prosecutor's Office to further justify “the wisdom” of having maintained secrecy for seven years to “evit these manipulations”.

Furthermore, the public prosecutor's office attacks the defense because, seven months after the secrecy was lifted, they have not requested any proceedings or provided any evidence: “Now that it is time to do so, they are not doing it. This shows that they have not been caused any indefenseness”. But Equipo Económico –the firm founded by Montoro and which is at the epicenter of the alleged scheme– counterattacks by lashing out at the judge: “The balance of the last six months could not be more lamentable”. And it blames him for having been “completely immobile” and immersed in a “total paralysis”. In this regard, in one of his latest appeals, he states that he extended the investigation until June with “absolute contempt” for the right to defense and “without minimally observing the formalities” because he did not wait for the parties to express themselves.

This has been the latest line of attack. Previously, the defenses were attacking other pillars of the investigation. The case was born as a result of the “casual finding” of some suspicious emails within the framework of another investigation. The investigated person from whom they were confiscated replies that the Mossos found them thanks to an “indiscriminate access” to his communications and carried out an “investigation of undeniable prospective nature”. And another investigated person believes that the judge has taken jurisdiction by making an “arbitrary interpretation” of the law and claims that the case should be transferred to the courts of Madrid, which is where the events took place.

Incomplete information and unreadable files

The case has to overcome other obstacles that put spokes in the wheels of the investigation. The latest report from the Tax Agency, for example, pointed to "deficiencies" in the banking information it had received and argued that "the absence" of accounting, commercial, and financial documentation from the investigated parties was a "real limitation" when drawing conclusions. Now the judge has again requested information from the banks and aims to resolve the existing shortcomings. Likewise, the Public Prosecutor's Office regrets that the Ministry of Finance, the Directorate General of Taxes, and the Tax Agency "did not comply" with the request to deliver the corporate emails in "all their terms," which forced them to ask again and "delayed" the analysis of the information.

But there is more. The investigators have not managed to access part of the documentation that the Ministry of Finance provided at the time. Why? It turns out that it is in an HTML format that refers to an internal server of the ministry. The Mossos warned that it contained "substantial information" and now the judge has requested it again. These are 89 files that were in 53 emails. Among others, there are references to the electricity tax and the tax on economic activities, the two that are under suspicion.