Caso belt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The caso Gürtel (German: Fall Gürtel ) is a corruption scandal affecting the conservative People's Party Partido Popular (PP) , which has been known in Spain since the beginning of 2009 and which occurred primarily in the autonomous regions of Madrid and Valencia . According to the main defendant Francisco Correa, the initially undercover investigations were referred to internally by the police as "operación Gürtel" ( correa means "belt" in German); The case became known as the “caso belt” in the Spanish media as well.

Involved in the affair are, among others, several members of the PP from the time when it set up the Spanish government under Prime Minister José María Aznar . The accused included high party officials in the autonomous regions of Valencia and Madrid, including the Valencian Prime Minister Francisco Camps , who subsequently announced his resignation on July 20, 2011. At the center of the affair are the entrepreneur Francisco Correa and three of his employees as well as the former treasurer of the PP, Luis Bárcenas . By using their influence on business and party bodies, they have embezzled public funds through subsidy fraud from various companies. In May 2018, the main defendants were sentenced to long prison terms; the PP was also fined for profiting from a permanent system of illegal funding. In response to the verdict, the opposition in parliament pushed for a constructive vote of no confidence , which led to the election of Pedro Sánchez as the new Spanish Prime Minister, and thus to the replacement of Mariano Rajoy , a member of the PP .

background

The case stems from a complaint filed in late 2007 against Correa by a former PP councilor in Majadahonda . According to the subsequent investigation, which was based, among other things, on secret recordings of people involved in the case, Correa and his three confidants Pérez, Crespo and Sánchez are said to have received money for fictitious contracts from public funds with the help of bogus companies. In addition, they are said to have benefited illegally in the preparation of development plans .

The connection between the group around Correa and the PP is said to go back to Aznar's decision to have all public party events organized by a Correa company. After the end of Aznar's reign, this business relationship was dissolved by Aznar's successor, Mariano Rajoy . With the help of gifts and bribes to PP members in various regional governments and parliaments, they are said to have driven the illegal business forward. The recipients of these gifts are said to include Alejandro Agag (Aznar's son-in-law) and around twenty other members of the PP.

publication

After the case became known in early 2009 with Correa's arrest, the conservative daily El Mundo reported that the investigating magistrate in charge Baltasar Garzón and the Spanish Justice Minister Mariano Fernández Bermejo had recently been at a hunting event. Media close to the PP therefore suspected that the PSOE- led government of Zapatero and Garzón had colluded to harm the PP in the weeks leading up to the regional elections in Galicia and the Basque Country . They were accused of planning a "whole party trial"; Garzón, who himself was a member of parliament for the PSOE in the 1990s, harbors a "known dislike" for the PP. These allegations were rejected by the parties. Fernández Bermejo resigned from his office shortly afterwards in view of the severe criticism; Garzón had to be hospitalized for an anxiety attack. The Madrid regional association of the PP, which interfered in the case as the injured party to the dispute, filed a petition for bias against him, but it was rejected. Shortly afterwards, after the PP had brought an action against Garzón for perversion of justice, he handed the case over to the highest courts of the Madrid and Valencia regions, as these were responsible for the implication of immunity holders. The PP's action was dismissed by the Spanish Supreme Court in early April.

Consequences of the investigation

In Madrid

Shortly after the case became known, three PP members resigned from various offices in the Autonomous Community of Madrid : the regional sports minister Alberto López Viejo, the former mayor of Majadahonda Guillermo Ortega and the mayor of Boadilla del Monte Arturo González Panero.

The then PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas as well as the then MEP Gerardo Galeote and the member of the Spanish parliament Jesús Merino Delgado were accused by the investigators of being involved in the case. The media also published other names of people who were allegedly implicated in the case, including the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Castile and Leon region , Jesús Merino.

On October 6, 2009, around a quarter of the investigation files into Garzón's investigation were released by the Madrid Supreme Court. Thereupon three other regional MPs of the PP were expelled from the party. However, other defendants retained their party membership. The case of Luis Bárcenas, whose legal fees were even paid for by the PP, became prominent. When further investigation files were published on April 6, 2010, including new indications that Bárcenas had collected illegal commissions, the PP initially held on to its support for him. Bárcenas then announced his resignation from the party himself, and a few weeks later he would also renounce his seat in the Spanish Senate . Jesús Merino Delgado also resigned from his seat.

In Valencia

Francisco Camps , the Prime Minister of the Region of Valencia, resigned from his post as a result of the 2011 affair.

The case also had an impact in the Valencia region . It soon became known that, according to Garzón's investigations, regional prime minister Francisco Camps had received gifts in the form of expensive suits and other clothing from Correa and other accomplices. Garzón also accused the PP general secretary in the Valencia region and group leader in the regional parliament, Ricardo Costa, as well as other high-ranking party members of involvement in the affair. After Camps initially stated that he had paid for the suits himself, he later admitted the gift but stated that he had not given anything in return.

On May 14, 2009, a few weeks before the 2009 European elections in Spain , the Supreme Court of the Region of Valencia announced that Camps, Costa and two other PP members were to be questioned as suspects. Various high-ranking members of the PP national leadership immediately defended Camps' innocence and criticized the "hunt" against him. Following interrogation on May 20, the Court announced that Camps was on trial. However, these proceedings were suspended a few weeks later after the Court found, by two votes against one, that there was insufficient evidence to link the gift suits to the public procurement of Correa and his staff. However, the prosecutor appealed this decision. The Valencian PSOE also interfered in the case after it became known that one of the judges who voted to close the case was friends with Camps. In May 2010 the Tribunal Supremo , the highest Spanish court, ordered the reopening of the investigation against Camps. In July 2011, the investigating judge of the Valencian Supreme Court decided to initiate proceedings that are due to open in autumn 2011. On July 20, 2011, Camps announced his resignation as prime minister, but continued to declare his innocence. Two other party members, however, pleaded guilty in order to avoid the oral hearing in the corruption proceedings scheduled by the Valencian Supreme Court, which would have been part of the election campaign before the Spanish parliamentary elections planned for 2012. Previously they had negotiated with the national leadership of the PP about possible political compensation for this step. However, since Camps and Costa refused to declare guilt, the trial will still take place.

Finally, on September 24, 2009, the El País newspaper reported a police report explaining how bribery works in Valencia. As a result, Ricardo Costa and the regional vice-prime minister Vicente Rambla had a central position in it and also accepted illegal party donations for the PP. Shortly afterwards, the newspaper reported on various police eavesdropping operations against confidants of Correa, which were supposed to prove that Camps had been informed about the affair. After the national PP leadership had taken camps again, but demanded consequences from the regional association of the party, Ricardo Costa was "temporarily" dismissed from his offices in October 2009, as were some other party members. In September 2010, however, he was accepted back into the party and in the Valencian regional elections in 2011, as well as other party members accused in the context of the affair, placed on a safe list so that he could return to the regional parliament.

At the government level

Ana Mato , Minister for Health, Welfare and Equality in the Rajoy cabinet since December 22, 2011 , announced her resignation on November 26, 2014; she wants to avert damage to the government and her party (PP).

After the verdict on May 25, 2018, which also weighed heavily on the funding of the PP, the Socialist Party (PSOE) passed a motion of censure against Mariano Rajoy's minority government.

Wiretapping

An "affair within an affair" emerged when it became known that a large part of Garzón's investigation was based on secretly wiretapped conversations between suspects in the case and their lawyers. Francisco Correa and several other accused therefore brought indictments of perversion of justice against Garzón. On March 23, 2010, the Madrid Supreme Court decided not to admit the minutes of the meeting as evidence. On February 9, 2012, the Supreme Court Senate banned Garzón from his profession for 11 years.

Criminal trial

Process flow

On January 16, 2015, the anti-corruption prosecutor in Madrid announced the required sentence: 125 years and six months imprisonment, as well as a 15.5 million euros fine for Francisco Correa and 42 years and six months imprisonment for Luis Bárcenas. Among other things, he had hidden assets amounting to 48.2 million euros from the tax authorities in Switzerland.

In February 2015, the public prosecutor Pablo Ruz opened the proceedings against a total of forty suspects after five years of investigations. You will u. a. Bribery , fraud , embezzlement , forgery of documents , money laundering , granting advantages and tax evasion accused. In addition to the main accused Correa and Bàrcenas, who each had to leave bail of around 60 million euros (Correa) and almost 90 million euros (Bàrcenas), other business people and former local politicians of the Partido Popular from the Madrid and Valencia region are also indicted.

In October 2015 the judge Concepción Espejel and the judge Enrique López were removed from the court at the request of the public prosecutor's office for bias after it became clear that both had close ties with the Partido Popular and it had supported them in their legal careers.

In February 2017, the Supreme Court of the Valencian Community ( Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunidad Valenciana (TSJCV)) ruled the three main defendants Francisco Correa, Pablo Crespo and Álvaro Pérez on the basis of the serious allegations and charges and the associated risk of escape and other outstanding charges to be taken into temporary custody. The three convicts begin their initially provisional prison sentence until the final decision. All three were transferred to a prison in Madrid to be available for the main charges of the caso belt of the Audiencia Nacional .

Judgments

On February 10, 2017, the three main defendants in the Caso Gürtel from Valencia, Francisco Correa Sánchez , Pablo Crespo and Álvaro Pérez ( El Bigotes ), were sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment by the highest court of the Valencian Community for embezzlement of public funds in connection with the tourism fair Condemned by Valencia ( Feria Internacional de Turismo, FITUR ). A total of 11 of the previous 13 defendants were convicted of embezzlement of public funds, granting benefits , bribery , forgery and conspiracy . The other convicts received sentences of between three and ten years. Of these 11 convicts, five received an additional ban on all public offices. The judgment can audit be inserted. Until the final decision is made, everyone can remain at large, unless one of the convicts voluntarily decides to begin the sentence. Because of the size of the penalties, the prosecution or the PSPV-PSOE as plaintiff could apply for a provisional prison sentence due to the risk of escape .

On May 24, 2018, the Audiencia Nacional announced the verdict for the events between 1999 and 2005 (verdicts for the later events were to follow): Eight of 37 defendants were acquitted, the rest received heavy prison sentences and fines for far-reaching offenses, including a. Corruption, theft, membership in a criminal organization, misappropriation of public funds, forgery, money laundering and tax fraud; the main defendant, Francisco Correa, was sentenced to 51 years and 11 months in prison; the co-defendant Barcenas was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment and a fine of 44 million euros; his wife, Rosalía Iglesias, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment as beneficiary and for tax offenses. The Partido Popular was sentenced to pay 245,492 euros; In the judgment of 1,687 pages, the party is accused of having established permanent, parallel, occult funding systems from at least 1989; Between 1999 and 2005 the PP had established a "stable" cooperation with Correa in a number of municipalities in the Madrid and Valencia region, as well as with the autonomous regions of Madrid and Castile and León, through which the Correas companies were arbitrarily favored in public tenders and received inflated prices; The defendant Barcenas collected large sums of money for the PP and paid them into private accounts in Switzerland.

Web links

  • Nación Rotonda (sp. Roundabout Nation); Illustration of the extent and consequences of corruption in the Spanish construction industry, which use Google Earth to make structural changes in various regions of Spain, especially in the regions of Madrid and Valencia, visible.

Footnotes

  1. El País , May 2, 2009: "Correa grabó un vídeo para extorsionar" (Spanish).
  2. ^ La Voz de Galicia, October 9, 2009: Correa intentó sin éxito involucrar a Aznar en su trama corrupta (Spanish).
  3. El País , February 13, 2009: Dádivas y sobornos a autoridades (Spanish).
  4. El Periódico , October 6, 2009: Alejandro Agag figura en las anotaciones de la "caja B" de las empresas de Correa (Spanish).
  5. El Mundo , February 13, 2009: El Gobierno de Madrid se considera “perjudicado” y solicita personarse (Spanish).
  6. El País , April 8, 2009: El PP pierde en el Supremo su batalla contra Garzón por el "caso belt" (Spanish).
  7. El País , October 11, 2009: Nueve meses de contradicciones para Esperanza Aguirre (Spanish); El País , February 10, 2009: Aguirre sacrifica a dos cargos de Madrid ante el alud de sospechas (Spanish).
  8. El Mundo , June 22, 2009: El juez pide al Supremo que cite al tesorero del PP por cohecho y delito fiscal (Spanish); El Mundo, September 14, 2009: Luis Bárcenas dará hoy sus primeras explicaciones al Senado por el "caso belt" (Spanish).
  9. El Mundo , October 8, 2009: “Los diputados de Aguirre imputados en‹ Belt ›dejan el Grupo Popular” (Spanish).
  10. El Mundo , April 6, 2010: Bárcenas, ¿intocable en el PP? (Spanish).
  11. El País , April 7, 2010: La corrupción masiva deja un aluvión de pruebas contra Bárcenas, Camps y Aguirre (Spanish).
  12. El País , April 8, 2010: Bárcenas se rinde y se da de baja como militante del PP (Spanish).
  13. El País , April 19, 2010: Bárcenas y Merino dejan sus escaños una semana después de abandonar la militancia (Spanish).
  14. El País , March 6, 2009: Garzón destapa sobornos a Camps y una red de corrupción masiva en Madrid (Spanish), accessed October 15, 2010.
  15. Cinco Días, May 14, 2009: El TSJCV cita como imputados a Camps ya Costa el próximo 19 de mayo (Spanish).
  16. Europa Press, May 14, 2009: Sáenz de Santamaría defiende presunción de inocencia de Camps y niega doble vara de medir con otros imputados (Spanish), Libertad Digital, May 15, 2009: Basagoiti: "Aquí hay una cacería contra Camps" porque "Arrasa al PSOE elección tras elección" (Spanish).
  17. Glopedia.es, August 3, 2009: Camps no será juzgado por los trajes (Spanish).
  18. El País , May 18, 2010: El Supremo cree que Camps aceptó regalos de forma "repetida y opaca" (Spanish).
  19. El País , July 15, 2011: Camps se sentará en el banquillo por un delito de cohecho por la causa de los trajes (Spanish).
  20. El País , July 20, 2011: Camps deja la Generalitat para defender su inocencia (Spanish).
  21. El País , July 20, 2011: Rajoy negocia con Camps y Costa para que se declaren culpables y evitar el juicio (Spanish).
  22. El País , July 25, 2011: El derrumbe de Camps provoca un tsunami en el PP valenciano (Spanish).
  23. El País , September 24, 2009: El vicepresidente de Camps y la cúpula del PP valenciano dirigían la financiación ilegal (Spanish).
  24. El País , October 11, 2009: Camps se queda sin cortafuegos (Spanish), El País , October 11, 2009: El "campismo" se desmorona a golpe de escándalos (Spanish).
  25. El País , September 15, 2010: Aplausos al regreso de Ricardo Costa (Spanish).
  26. El País , April 6, 2011: El PP mantiene en las listas a Ricardo Costa ya Vicente Rambla pese a su implicación en Gürtel (Spanish).
  27. spiegel.de November 27, 2014: Bribe affair: Spanish health minister resigns
  28. El País , March 24, 2010: El Tribunal de Madrid anula el grueso de las escuchas en la cárcel del 'caso belt' .
  29. Investigative judge Garzón receives an eleven-year professional ban , Die Zeit , February 9, 2012
  30. ^ Belt, la corrupción que colonizó al Partido Popular ; El País from January 17, 2015
  31. Ruz abre juicio oral contra la trama de corrupción vinculada al PP ; El País, March 5, 2015
  32. Charges against 40 suspects in Spanish belt affair ; Süddeutsche.de of March 5, 2015
  33. Margarita Batallas: La Audiencia Nacional aparta a los dos magistrados próximos al PP del juicio del 'caso belt'. El Periódico of October 30, 2015
  34. ^ "Correa, Crespo y El Bigotes, a price for the belt of Valencia." In: El País of February 14, 2017.
  35. ^ "Correa, Crespo y El Bigotes, condenados a 13 años de prisión por la trama belt de Valencia". In: El País of February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 12.
  36. El Mundo: La Audiencia Nacional condena a Bárcenas a 33 años por blanqueo y al PP por beneficiarse de Gürtel , 25 May 2018, accessed on 28 May (Spanish)