Thus, the investigated parties in the Montoro case try to derail the corruption case

MadridA written procedural battle. That is what the investigation of 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 casual finding that originated the case, the jurisdiction of the Tarragona courts, the duration of the secrecy of the proceedings and the last extension of the investigation. And all of that, added to other obstacles that have appeared, hinders the course of the investigation. What is being investigated is the payment of bribes by certain gas companies in exchange for Cristóbal Montoro, who was Minister of Finance, to promote changes in laws in the Congress of Deputies to benefit them.

In a written statement, to which this newspaper has had access, the Prosecutor's Office laments that, in a “escalated” manner, the defenses have presented “ingent” and “massive” appeals requesting the nullity of the case “for any reason”. And it criticizes them for having used not only appeals, but also accession briefs and accessions to accessions. A circular loop that, added to the multiplicity of popular accusations, is not making things 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 of that 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 is baiting the defense attorneys 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 demonstrates that they have not been caused any defenselessness.” But Equipo Económico –the firm founded by Montoro and 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 regrettable.” And it reprimands him for having been “completely immobile” and immersed in “total paralysis.” In this regard, in one of its latest appeals, it states that the investigation was extended until June with “absolute disregard” for the right to defense and “without minimally observing the forms” because it did not wait for the parties to comment.

This has been the last line of attack. Previously, the defense attorneys 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 requests that the case 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 hinder 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 those investigated 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 Prosecutor's Office regrets that the Ministry of Finance, the Directorate-General for Taxes, and the Tax Agency "did not comply" with the request to deliver the corporate emails in "all their terms," which forced them to be requested again and "delayed" the analysis of the information.

But there's more. Investigators have not managed to access part of the documentation that the Ministry of Finance provided at the time. Why? It turns out 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 those that refer to the electricity tax and the tax on economic activities, the two that are under suspicion.