SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 12 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
In the midst of the ‘Koldo case’, businessman Íñigo Rotaetxe, acting on behalf of Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a las Empresas company, opted not to provide testimony on Friday before the Canary Islands Parliament’s commission set up to scrutinise the procurement of medical supplies during the pandemic. This decision was influenced by his current status under investigation, a stance he also adopted back in May at the Balearic Parliament.
Accompanied by his legal counsel, Rotaetxe declined to respond to inquiries from the seven parliamentary factions to avoid any potential complications linked to his legal predicament involving accusations of organised crime, malfeasance, misappropriation, money laundering, and unlawful influence.
Following the hearing, he merely expressed gratitude towards the groups for their interest and endeavour in posing questions.
The commission’s president, AHI representative Raúl Acosta, underscored the individual’s right to remain silent as enshrined in the constitution, urged the groups to put forth “succinct” queries, and even had to caution deputies from Vox, Javier Nieto, and CC, José Alberto Díaz-Estébanez, for their criticism of Rotaetxe’s decision not to engage with the commission.
Díaz-Estébanez specifically rebuked Rotaetxe for his reticence, deeming it as not the most effective approach to uncovering the truth and indicative of apprehension and reluctance to confront potential contradictions in the future.
Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a las Empresas company was granted three contracts totalling nearly 12 million Euros in the midst of the pandemic for the procurement of medical supplies for the Canary Islands, along with an additional contract valued at slightly over 447,000 Euros for air freight services.
Nonetheless, the Canarian Government only disbursed payments for masks that were deemed compliant, as confirmed by SCS technicians.
The investigation commission will reconvene next Monday with the testimonies of Kevin Sánchez, proprietor of Yimbo 7 Inversiones SL, a company implicated in the ‘mask case’, and Carlos Sánchez Muñoz, CEO of ACJ SAU, one of the primary healthcare suppliers to the Canary Islands Government.
