The judge of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in charge of Mediator case has asked to extend the instruction for six more months to be able to carry out new procedures which, due to their content, reveal their interest in delving into the role played by the defendants Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo and Taishet Sources.
The judge has asked the Congress of Deputies to report of the responsibilities that Fuentes had Curbelo as deputy of PSOE by The Palms until his resignation when this case came to light, the commissions in which he participated or the functions he held.
As for his nephew and successor at the head of the General Directorate of Livestock of the Government of the Canary IslandsTaishet Fuentes, the instructor justifies the need to extend the instruction with the fact that, Currently, there are more than a hundred files under suspicion of their passage through the Ministry of Agricultureso it wants to define which ones should be analyzed by the General Intervention of the State, as also requested by the Prosecutor’s Office.
In the Mediator case, An alleged plot of bribery of businessmen to public officials is being investigated (mainly the former socialist deputy and his nephew)to obtain favorable treatment in public contracts, subsidies or sanctioning proceedings.
To request the extension of the investigations, the Investigating Judge number 4 of Santa Cruz de Tenerife alleges, among other reasons, that the reports of the various investigation units on money laundering, assets, consumption and customs and State Interventionnor the expert opinions that require new procedures to be carried out, as detailed in an order and an order to which EFE has had access.
76 reports from the police group
At this time, remember, there are 76 reports on the table from the police technological investigation group, others from financial analysis, to which are added those that the General State Intervention will make on the files under suspicion.
The judge focuses especially on the Montesdeoca Cheese Factoryon which the European Union (EU) imposed a penalty of 74,000 euros for not justifying a subsidy that was finally prescribed.
At this time, the General Directorate of Modernization and Quality of Public Services has issued a report in which detects a “lag” regarding the files of refund and sanctions for aid and subsidies due, in principle, to their simultaneous processing.
The reason, according to this General Directorate, is that until the beginning of 2023, when a new head of service was incorporated, the reimbursement of aid was being managed and then, if appropriate, the sanctioning would be initiated, which in certain cases led to to the prescription.
The judge opts for initiate new proceedings in order to analyze the entire file despite its volume and lack of means to clarify essential aspects of the investigation, including identifying the previous head of that service and taking a statement from him after the current one recently did so.
Also It is considered essential to summon the technical general secretary again and have access to the report prepared by the General Intervention of the State and then order new complementary proceedings if necessary.
The instructor insists on knowing what happened with the aid granted by Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo and his nephew Taishet Fuentes from the General Directorate of Livestock of Canary Islands.
At that time both intervened in the files and companies investigated, among which is also the advice of Fuentes Curbelo and a cheese factory related to his family that became run by his son.
The same happens with the subsidies processed in those periods by the Technical Directorate of the Paying Body of European Agricultural Funds inside of the Program of Specific Options due to remoteness and insularity (POSEI).
The instructor believes that at this procedural moment there are indications of being before an alleged crime of prevarication, bribery, disclosure of secrets, money laundering, falsehood, fraud, influence peddling and/or crimes in the field of corruption against the Administration in all its modalities, without ruling out any others.
The judge has authorized the control of Fuentes Curbelo’s communications, a request from the Police that they consider “more than justified”as well as to rescue the files related to his function as a public position in Agriculture considered “irregular” that affect family entities and others that received subsidies.
He believes it is important to analyze and access the conversations and emails that the former national deputy and his nephew had with the former Deputy Minister of the Primary Sector, Álvaro de la Bárcena Argany, and the Head of Service, Estefanía Margarita González, both of whom are being investigated.
