The Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (Iter), owned by the Cabildo de Tenerife, has spent two years looking for formulas to sell the bitcoins acquired by mining this digital currency in the past term, an “opaque” world in which the island corporation does not must participate, according to its president, Pedro Martín.
The president has reviewed in an extraordinary plenary session the irregularities detected in this public company, whose function is to promote renewable energies: lack of urban licenses, illegal connections to obtain electricity supply, transfer of land for animal shelters, labor irregularities and awarding of contracts by finger
One of the issues in which it has affected is the ownership of bitcoins in the name of Iter, for whose mining the institute’s supercomputer was used, and which now the Cabildo does not know how to liquidate.
The former president of the Cabildo Carlos Alonso, currently at the head of the main opposition group (CC), justified the mining of bitcoins, not because of the monetary or financial aspect of the digital currency, but because of the technological element, the “blockchain”, which It is “very relevant”. He indicated that in his day the value of those bitcoins was about 10,000 euros, which came to be valued at four million, although the price has finally fallen, Alonso explained.
“No transaction has been made, it is not relevant as a financial asset but as a technological development, what was done was to analyze how bitcoin can be generated using a new technology such as the ‘blockchain,'” Alonso said.
Pedro Martín replied that bitcoin is “an opaque tool” and it is not the job of Iter or its supercomputer to mine digital currencies, which are now very difficult to sell. He explained that the Cabildo cannot find an operator or a bank to sell its bitcoins and legal reports advise against using online cryptocurrency transaction platforms, which are going through “a brutal crisis” and where coins have been hacked and stolen.
Enrique Arriaga, first vice president of the Cabildo, contributed that it is very problematic for a public company like Iter to sell bitcoins and that the possibility of putting them in the name of the CEO for their liquidation has been explored, but it is a delicate matter because it would mean an increase in equity for that person.
The president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, gave an account of other actions to regularize the situation of Iter, with reports, audits and labor regulations that have meant a great consumption of time and dedication just for the institute to recover its normality.
Among the irregularities he cited violations of the legislation on public contracts, employment and subsidies and referred to direct awarding of service contracts for more than 100,000 euros.
Other deficiencies are photovoltaic installations without a license, buildings without authorization, including the main Iter buildings and their bioclimatic homes, absence of urbanization projects and lack of activity permits.
Laborally, there were irregularities such as unjustified supplements, different salaries for the same tasks and contracts in fraud of the law, issues that have been regularized, Pedro Martín reported.
He also denounced that the CEO of Canalink, who lived in Barcelona and traveled to Tenerife a couple of times a year, spent all kinds of expenses for his transfers and stays, including a medieval show in the south of Tenerife.
The illegal connection to a wind turbine to supply electricity to offices and laboratories and the Christmas lottery for extra pay or additional vacation days among employees are other irregularities detected.
In addition, an attempt is being made to resolve a transfer of 10,000 square meters of industrial land for an animal shelter for 25 years, extendable to a private German entity without a license or qualification, said Martín.
Carlos Alonso, from CC, accused the government team of continuing to “look in the rear-view mirror” after four years “without paying attention to what is important, which is what Iter can do to continue promoting economic and technical development.”
He valued Iter’s trajectory and its importance for the development of renewable energies, telecommunications infrastructures and volcanic surveillance in Tenerife.
He recognized that there have been some irregularities detected in the audits, but defended that there was always legal control in the contracting procedures.
Alonso denounced the stagnation of Iter in this legislature and the need to provide the institute with a technical direction.
Zaida González, of the PP, said that if irregularities have been detected, the government group must present the appropriate complaints where appropriate and recalled that in past mandates the PSOE governed the Cabildo in alliance with the Canary Islands Coalition and they supported with their votes everything that now denounce.
The representative of the PP demanded that a manager with scientific and technical training be in charge of Iter and described the management that is currently being carried out as obscurantist.
For Sí Podemos Canarias, José David Carballo expressed his doubts about the information from the president of the Cabildo regarding that all the irregularities have been solved and accused Pedro Martín of promoting this extraordinary plenary session for partisan reasons before the elections.
