Thus, ABC revealed the irregularities of the CNIO that have caused the fall of their directors

The history of the fall of María Blasco, is the story of a chronicle announced since ABC, on December 11, the first chronicle with which The scandal of the National Oncological Research Center was uncovered (CNIO). That day, this newspaper revealed how the Center for Cancer Research was allocating money from the agency itself for a program, Cnio Arte, which consisted of the acquisition of works of art that had nothing to do with the founding issue of the organism. Subsequently, these works of art were taned with expenses of many thousands of euros to travel around the world for their exhibitions.

That information opened A series of exclusive Published by this newspaper in which, for almost two months, ABC has revealed everything that was happening in the center against cancer.

The revelations of this media have been based primarily on two facts: first, the publication of the audits that were carried out on the management of Blasco. In these reports two things were fundamentally revealed. First, the fact that María Blasco was charging a bonus of at least 30,000 euros a year for several years. The total amount of money that would have irregularly received the now former scientific director is more than 200,000 euros. Today, Blasco herself has not returned a single cent of that amount.

The other accounting irregularity was the attempt to convert María Blasco’s contract into indefinite when her position could only be renewable for five years or not.

Workplace harassment

The second cornerstone of the irregularities published about the management of Blasco has been the complaints of workplace harassment. The scientist has tried to justify in all her appearances between the media that in these complaints did not exist and that was only aware of one and was filed.

However, this newspaper published with specific dates and data at least twelve complaints of workers and scientists from the center, who accused her of a despotic, authoritarian attitude and in some cases brushing xenophobia and racism.

Works of art, bonuses, complaints of harassment … Blasco has been the victim of his own attitude and a management that can touch the crime.

Thus is rebuilt, through the covers of this newspaper, this story.

On December 11, 2024, ABC revealed that the Company Committee of the National Oncological Research Center (CNIO), under the Ministry of Science, denounced the expense of almost one million euros for the purchase of works of art and activities « Artistic »that have nothing to do with the activity of the organism. This follows from the internal documentation to which this newspaper disseminated in the transparency portal of the Ministry itself had access.

As recognized by the direction of the Board of Trustees of the CNIO in its response to the requirement of the Transparency Portal, the center destined for cancer investigation was spent 877,787 euros In the purchase of works of art and in the hiring of at least two people belonging to the Institutional Image Office, area responsible for the activity of the Art Cnio, a “branch” of the CNIO that launched the current direction of the agency.

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December 12, 2024

The center against cancer paid for trips to exhibitions in the Arctic, USA and Mozambique

Days later this newspaper also revealed that the CNIO not only bought the works of art and hired these staff, despite suffering a policy of cuts in the very important research field, but also launched an important international itinerance of the works with Multiple trips to those who attended their maximums responsible and that supposed an important expense for the center, officially calculated in more than 20,000 euros.

As recognized in the Transparency Portal of the Public Organization, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, directed DC and in the Cervantes de Chicago Institute ». In addition, last year they were made Also trips to the Arctic and Oslo (6,503 euros)Chicago (4,523), Mozambique (5,524) and Washington (4,177).

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December 14

The director of the Center against Cancer was forced to return 90,000 euros that she charged more

On December 14 ABC reported that the director of Research, María Blasco, charged irregularly, for at least three years, a “bonus” of 30,000 euros per year, information that appears in the audit of annual accounts that the general intervention of The State Administration (IGAE) made the public body in 2019 to which this newspaper had access. Blasco would have received accessories that did not correspond to him in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for a total amount of 90,197 euros, always according to the auditor.

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December 16

The Cnio tried to make the mandate of its director indefinite

The previously mentioned audit also indicated that in 2019 the center of the center tried to make the contract of the current director, María Blasco, as indefinite when it could only last five years renewable.

The auditor pointed out in said report «It has been observed that the validity of the contract of the five -year director from its signature, has ended on February 15, 2018. On February 26, the Board of Trustees has approved its renewal with an indefinite character. Analyzed the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, it is observed that this agreement is against the provisions of the modification and recast of the Statutes of the Foundation on February 1, 2013, which establishes in its article 17 that the Board of Trustees has proposed that the presidency will appoint a director of the State Public Sector Foundation with whom the appropriate contract will be formalized in its founding mission. In no case may the duration of this contract exceed five years extendable by agreement of the parties and in accordance with the applicable provisions in their matter »

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December 18

The cancer center forces its director to close the art department

A week after ABC reported the millionaire spending dedicated to the CNIO for its art program, the Board of Trustees of the Center decided to meet extraordinary to deliberate on this matter. The governing body then decided to suspend All the activity of ‘Cnio Art’. Then the employers decided to convene an extraordinary meeting dated this Wednesday, January 29 in which a decision would be made about the future of the director of Research, María Blasco.

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January 6, 2025

CNI scientists suggest that the Secretary of State “knew and allowed what there was”

At the beginning of this 2025, CNIO scientists assured ABC that there was a “direct responsibility for the actions of María Blasco, – director of the center – both by the president of the Board of Trustees of the Agency, Eva Ortega, and of his superior, the Secretary of State Juan Cruz Cigudosa ».

According to those scientists, who made this complaint to ABC, avoided giving their names for fear of internal reprisals Within the organism, “both Ortega and Cruz Cigudosa allowed all the excesses of María Blasco, being perfectly informed of the nature of the alleged irregularities and what was happening inside the center.”

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January 13, 2025

Minister Diana Morant refused to investigate irregularities in the CNIO

The CNIO is a private public collaboration center that depends directly on the Ministry of Science, and therefore of its headline, Diana Morant, who refused to be informed of the irregularities that could be committed in the agency and protected its director, its director, María Blasco, although, on several occasions, some of those responsible for the center and the Secretary of State for Innovation, Juan Cruz Cigudosa, tried to send the anomalies that could be happening.

Center scientists related to ABC who on one occasion tried to raise their complaints to Minister Morant without success and that even the headline responded to Ortega and Cigudosa on this matter with a blunt «with Maria [Blasco] everything’s fine”.

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January 14, 2025

More than half of the CNIO scientists ultiman a report that requires the cessation of its director

More than half of the high -ranking researchers of the CNIO finalized a report that they presented before the Ministry of Science and Innovation and before the Board of Trustees of the National Center for Oncological Research itself, in which they asked for the cessation of the director of the director of the director of the director of the director of the Organism, María Blasco, for the cluster of anomalies and irregularities that have been denounced in the management of the center in recent months.

According to ABC from sources from the center itself, almost thirty of these high -ranking scientists support a report in which all alleged anomalies are detailed.

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January 17, 2025

The director of the CNIO accumulates complaints for workplace harassment to researchers and center staff

Shortly after, ABC echoed at least ten complaints aimed at María Blasco of different CNIO personnel for alleged cases of workplace harassment from 2013 to the current 2025. According to the documentation to which this newspaper had access, the complainants They are, from a program director, to group leaders, researchers, employees, area responsible or bosses of unit.

He common denominator Of the complaints are alleged situations of work harassment at different extremes and in different versions, which were formulated before the Human Resources Department of the CNIO, or before the management of the same, and in any of the cases, even reached the courts of justice .

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January 24, 2025

The minister allowed the CNIO director not to return the 200,000 euros bonus

Finally, this newspaper, five days after the Extraordinary Board of Trustees was held in which it was decided on the future of María Blasco, published that the director of the CNIO did not ever return the more than 200,000 euros of bonus that, according to a Audit of the General Intervention of the State Administration, illegally charged from 2014 to 2019, according to ABC of sources from the National Oncological Center itself.

Always according to the aforementioned sources, that money never reimbursed the coffers of the CNIO although the need to do so by the management of the center to the Ministry of Science and Innovation that directs was communicated Diana Morant.

The administrative part of the center reported, that Blasco would have perceived during several irregular charges attributed to supposed “bonus” that did not correspond to it and that the auditor calculated in a value of more than more than 30,000 euros per year.

It was the Ministry himself who, when he received the report from the management of the center warning of The need to return these amountsHe claimed that he had to study whether the CNIO director really was obliged or not to return them. That “study” was never carried out.