The former chief inspector of the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) who directed the investigation of ‘Gürtel’, Manuel Morocho, said Tuesday at the trial for irregular awards in Arganda del Rey that the leader of the plot, Francisco Correa, “controlled public procurement” in that consistory.
This has been expressed in his statement as a witness in the oral hearing in which the focus on the dynamics of irregular awards of the plot in the Madrid town is placed, where the defendants gave “an external appearance of legality” to the specifications. “But, deep down, they were the ones who controlled,” Morocho added.
To questions from the Anti -Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Morocho has ratified and given details of the reports that he prepared throughout his work as responsible for investigating the plot, which he exercised between 2007 and until 2020. In one of those documents, the researchers focused on all contracts awarded to the Correa group.
“The structure of Correa had intervened in the City of Arganda del Rey in such a way that it controlled public procurement and what there (in the report) is exposed is an example of this in the sense that contracts all suffer from inconsistencies in the sense that the formal contracting file had a course, an apparently appointed development with some dates, with a set of proceedings made in that file,” he explained.
However, Morocho said, the communications intervened to the plot “showed how they were previously forming the direct award and the execution of concrete actions for the preparation of these events.”
Correa “used to be generous with them”
The Correa himself recognized in his statement as accused his main role in the dynamics of irregular awards in the town, detailing the payments that the organization made to officials to obtain contracts. “As the works were fulfilled because I used to be generous with them,” said the leader of the plot that, to questions from the Public Ministry, explained that this generosity translated into “trips, spice payments and organization of events such as weddings.”
It should be noted that, of the 21 defendants initially, only 19 sit on the bench of the accused after the death of Manuel Salinas and the businessman José Luis Martínez Parra. Of that figure, 18 defendants have recognized their participation in the facts described by the Anti -Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and only businessman Luis Bremond has ruled out reaching an agreement with the Public Ministry.
The latter’s defense has asked Morocho himself if they were among all emails and communications some reference to Bremond. The witness has made it clear that it does not appear in them, and that the only participation that is recorded is in the approval of an invoice and the order of payment of some Olympics in the town. This Monday’s session has been closed with Morocho’s testimony, usual in all judgments for each of the ‘Gürtel’ research lines. “There is only one left,” said the president of the court, Judge Fernando Andreu, alluding to the only piece that is missing to prosecute himself.
The trial will resume on March 24 with more experts, and Bremond’s interrogation is expected to be practiced on March 31. According to court estimates, it will be seen for sentence in early April.
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