Former Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro is being investigated for benefiting gas companies in exchange for "significant payments"
The gas companies Air Liquide, Abello, Messer, Praxair and Sociedad Española de Carburos Metallic are also under investigation. According to the judge, they "agreed" to pay "the Equipo Economico Society" for tax reforms.
A judge in Tarragona investigates former Finance MinisterCristóbal Montoro (PP) and his team for creating a "network of influences" that allegedly led to legislative changes to support gas companies in exchange for "significant payments" to Equipo Economico (EE).
In a decision, a judge in Tarragona charges Montoro (who wasFinance Minister between2000 and 2004 with José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy between 2011 and 2018) and 30 others investigated for bribery, fraud against public administration, prevarication, influence trafficking, prohibited negotiations, corruption and documentary falsehood.
In the case, which has hitherto been kept secret by the judge, several senior officials of the Ministry headed by Montoro are under investigation, such as the then-Secretaryof State for Finance, Miguel Ferré ; the Under-Secretary of State for Budgets, Pilar Platero ; the Under-Secretary of Finance, Felipe MartineZ.
Thecompanies that make up AFGIM (Air Liquide, Abello, Messer, Praxair and Sociedad Española de Carburos Metalicos) are also being investigated. According to the judge, these companies "agreed to pay" to Equipo Economico for tax reforms.
The resolution explains that, according to the study, which began in 2018, gas companies hired Equipo Economico twice to use the "network of influences" to carry out legal reforms consistent with their plans, such as lowering the Special Tax on Electricity.
Epailearen ebazpena
Gas companies hired Equipo Economico twice to use its network of influences to undertake legal reforms consistent with the company's plans.
According to the judge, "many of the members of the corruption network held senior positions in the Government and Central Administration, from which they created a network of influence for economic gain."
"Thus, in exchange for significant disbursements and the alleged abuse of public service, they intervened decisively in the reform of the laws in order to carry them out in accordance with the interests of their clients, since, despite previous attempts, the Companys were unable to obtain the reforms and therefore went to the aforementioned institution to carry them out," the resolution stresses.
The judge specifies that AFGIM and the companies that make up it were unsuccessful, despite several consultations inorder to obtain favourable legislation , since the administration refused to make any changes to it.
In view of this, they went to the Economic Team and, "for no apparent reason," managed to get the legal reform "done in response to the demands of the AFGIM, which even goes so far as to write legal texts, and all this by paying a great deal of money."
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