He Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER)property of Council of Tenerifehas 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 insular corporation should not participate, according to its president, Peter Martin.
The head of the island institution reviewed yesterday, in an extraordinary plenary session, the irregularities detected in this public company, whose function is to promote renewable energies, and cited deficiencies such as lack of planning licenses, illegal connections to obtain electricity supply, transfer of land for animal shelters, labor irregularities and the awarding of contracts by hand. One of the issues in which he influenced was 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 is “very relevant”.
Regarding the irregularities found, Martín cited 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.
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 trips and stays, including a medieval show in the south of Tenerife. Likewise, they are trying 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 authorizing title, said Martín.
Alonso, who recognized that there have been some irregularities detected in the audits, defended that there was always legal control in the contracting procedures. He denounced the stagnation of ITER in this legislature. Zaida González, from the PP, said that if irregularities have been detected, the government group must file the appropriate complaints.
