Puig’s brother, investigated for subsidy fraud, defends the legality of the aid

Francis Puig, brother of the president of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, will provide new documents to the case that is investigating him for alleged subsidy fraud to try to demonstrate that, in no case, did he commit a crime in receiving public aid. This has been explained by his lawyer, Javier Falomir, after the four hours in which the president’s brother has been answering questions from the Prosecutor’s Office about the four types of irregularities pointed out by the Judicial Police of the Civil Guard in an extensive report in the However, he did not come to any conclusion. Falomir has disdained the value of the work of the Civil Guard that collects, as he said, “issues that could have been confirmed and have not”, or “payments that he considers are not accredited when it is only that they have not seen them”. In fact, the Civil Guard’s own letter states: “By way of summary, several irregularities have been found that may be due to human or computer errors of mechanization and another could be bad faith”, and they do not decide which ones can be framed in each one of the typologies they allege.

The case investigates, after a complaint filed by the PP, if there were irregularities in the granting of subsidies received by several companies owned by the brother of the Valencian president and granted by the Valencian Generalitat and the Catalan Generalitat between the years 2015 and 2018.

Despite the fact that the investigations began more than three years ago, Francis Puig had not yet declared before the court that charged him with the alleged crimes of subsidy fraud and falsehood. The investigation is still underway and, among other things, it is pending that the Intervention report of the Valencian Generalitat and the Generalitat of Catalonia on the aid granted be presented, as requested by the Prosecutor’s Office. Regarding these, Puig’s lawyer has said that he is sure that “there will be no surprises” and has explained that not even the amount to which the Civil Guard has objected amounts to the amount of 120,000 euros that they have to add for it to be considered a crime. At that time, as he has advanced, they will request the dismissal of the case.

The lawyer has also highlighted that they trust that the case will be closed “as soon as possible” because it is an “unfortunate procedure based on erroneous data”, as he said.

Puig’s defense has also made reference to the four types of irregularities pointed out by the judicial police: crossed invoices; invoices for expenses that are not sufficiently justified; the use of the same expenses to justify subsidies from both administrations and the omission in the applications of the reference to having received other subsidies. Regarding the first, the lawyer has indicated that the accusation, brought by the PP, confuses the double imputation of the expense with the fact that the same invoices have been provided in one or the other administration, but in neither case has it been subsidized fully by both administrations or twice the same expense. Francis Puig’s defense has also explained that there are compensated expenses because the companies that Puig directed had relationships with other companies that were clients and suppliers at the same time. Regarding the absence of reference to other grants, Javier Falomir, has assured that the Government of Catalonia does not require this information and that, therefore, it was not provided.

For his part, the president, Ximo Puig, stressed this Monday that the Generalitat is not “concerned” in the judicial declaration of his brother Francis, as investigated for alleged irregularities in public aid, and that his company “will have to give explanations who works work”.

“The PP tried to involve the Generalitat in this issue and the Justice slammed the door on the PP”, stressed the head of the Consell, who wanted to make it clear that “it is an issue that from the perspective of the Generalitat was very clear from the first moment”. In addition, he has assured that the Valencian government will always abide by judicial decisions and that any company in the Community must have “the same duties and the same rights”. “It is a company that will have to give the explanations that it has to give, whoever works,” he asserted. And he has emphasized that “if irregularities are observed at a certain time, of course the Generalitat will request compensation or whatever corresponds”.