The judge postponed until July 12 the statements of the two charges of the Canarian Government imputed
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE/MADRID, June 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Marta and Aranxa Suárez, the daughters of the investigated businessman José Suárez Esteve, known in the ‘Mediator case’ as ‘El Drones’, have ratified their father’s version and have assured the judge that Antonio Navarro Tacoronte defrauded them of around 46,000 euros.
Legal sources have confirmed to Europa Press that the two women have been the only ones to appear this Wednesday via videoconference before the Investigating Court Number 4 of Santa Cruz de Tenerife as investigated.
Judge María de los Ángeles Lorenzo-Cáceres summoned both investigated after the agents of the Internal Affairs Service of the Civil Guard pointed out in one of their reports that, in January 2021, Marta received a WhatsApp message from Navarro Tacoronte – -the ‘mediator’ of the plot– with the number of a bank account that his father also received.
According to said report, the daughter of ‘El Drones’ responded to that message with a photograph of a computer screen in which there was a “proof of transfer of the same day” to an account that, according to the database of the Tax Agency, would be owned by a couple now investigated in the plot.
It should be remembered that before the Canary Islands court, José Suárez Esteve himself declared that he was being investigated. The businessman assured that Navarro Tacoronte defrauded him of 46,000 euros with the promise of setting up a drone sales company in the Canary Islands.
Suárez said that the “mediator” offered him to set up a company in a free zone through a company that was dedicated to it, and assured him that this would reduce the payment of taxes and he could import the drones. According to him, Navarro Tacoronte explained to him that an initial investment of 100,000 euros would have to be made as capital of the company.
The businessman admitted before the judge that he made several transfers up to 46,000 euros to various accounts, some of which the “mediator” was not the owner of. He later realized that “it was a falsehood.”
TOMORROW ‘TITO BERNI’ APPEARS
Within the framework of this round of interrogations, the former PSOE deputy Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo, alias ‘Tito Berni’, and his nephew Taishet Fuentes are expected to appear in court tomorrow Thursday for an extended statement.
In addition, according to a ruling to which Europa Press has had access, it is expected that on the same day of the declaration, ‘Tito Berni’ will undergo a calligraphic expert.
Although two other statements were also scheduled for tomorrow, the judge has finally decided to postpone them. Legal sources consulted by Europa Press specify that the head of the court has postponed until July 12 the appearance of the Deputy Minister of the Primary Sector of the Government of the Canary Islands, Álvaro de la Bárcena, and of the Head of Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Pesca, Margarita González, accused of alleged crimes of prevarication and disclosure of secrets for being allegedly involved in the reduction of a sanction to a Canarian cheese factory.
The appearance of Celedonio Castro, a taxi driver who appears in the case as a recipient of payments from a business couple addressed to the ‘mediator’ Antonio Tacoronte Navarro, has also been postponed because he has recently changed lawyers.
IMPULSE TO THE CAUSE
This week’s statements are the latest move in the ‘Mediator case’, where the alleged plot of a criminal organization “made up mainly of three pillars and a clear link between all those investigated” is being investigated, which would have “a perfectly structured and defined, with a clear division of functions and dedicated to the commission of crimes related to corruption such as bribery and influence peddling”.
The interrogations will take place shortly after the judge agreed to extend the patrimonial investigation to the wife of Taishet Fuentes, considering that “regarding Yeneba Calero’s account, there is a huge number of bizum operations with her husband” which, in her opinion, “It must be analyzed to “verify” if it could “receive payments of illegal origin.”
According to the head of the court in the order in which he ordered this procedure, “there are many conversations in which payments to Taishet are discussed” or in which he “demands the payments or thanks those received.” Thus, he ordered requests for information to be sent to various banking entities regarding six accounts that are under suspicion.
