Corruption | Spain: Tailor-made laws can be bought

It's no secret that the right-wing People's Party (PP) in Spain is mired in corruption. It is the only party in the country to have been legally convicted of an "efficient system of institutional corruption." Recent revelations against former PP leader Cristóbal Montoro apparently go beyond this scope. However, these events also cast a dim light on the politicized Spanish judiciary. The revelations in the CDU sister party only came to light after resistance from the Madrid judiciary.

In the Montoro case, it was not the judiciary in the capital that investigated, but an investigating judge in the Catalan port city of Tarragona. Rubén Rus Vela and the Catalan police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, initially pursued the investigation in secret. Published documents now show that the investigations from Madrid were even obstructed. On Monday, the Spanish online newspaper "Eldiario.es" published that Alejandro Luzón, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor, obstructed the investigation into an "organization" in which Montoro allegedly played a "central role." He served as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy from 2011 to 2018.

Bribes for tax cuts

Montoro allegedly once appointed officials within the ministry who then "ensured" that laws were first drafted by gas companies after bribes had been paid "as requested." The laws that were then passed in the Spanish parliament were sometimes even drafted by the companies, according to investigating judge Rubén Rus Vela in his indictment.

Investigators were able to document how this unfolded through email exchanges. "The direct route, as always, is to pay the office that has direct contact with Montoro," described one company involved. The process was conducted through "Equipo Económico" (EE), and Rus Vela refers to 25 contracts with the consulting firm. The firm was originally founded by Montoro and was initially called "Montoro y Asociados" before being renamed in 2008. By paying bribes to EE, gas companies achieved an 85 percent reduction in electricity tax. The cost: €2.2 billion in lost tax revenue.

Montoro is no stranger to the public. He engineered a tax amnesty in 2012. Billions upon billions of illegal income were legalized in exchange for a withholding tax of a maximum of ten percent, a slap in the face to honest taxpayers. Although the Constitutional Court ruled this process unconstitutional, there were no consequences for the criminal tax evaders or for Montoro .

The evidence regarding the "network of influence," as the investigating judge calls it, has become increasingly overwhelming in recent years. This makes it all the more surprising that Luzón, the top anti-corruption official, actually obstructed the investigation. Two years ago, he placed the investigators under his control. This allegedly prevented an email address used by Montoro in the Ministry of Finance from being analyzed from Madrid, reports "Eldiario.es." The courageous anti-corruption prosecutor Carmen García Cerdá, who had already had to fight alongside Luzón in other corruption investigations against the PP, was given a disciplinary sanction. She had attempted to investigate these emails against her boss's orders.

Criminal proceedings initiated against Montoro

In Catalonia, intercepted emails revealed that the corrupt network had expanded into other sectors, such as renewable energy and the construction industry. Criminal proceedings have now been initiated against Montoro, his team, and various companies. So far, 28 other people have been charged in addition to Montoro.

Why the Madrid investigators were slowed down can only be speculated. It is suspected that this had something to do with the fact that confidential taxpayer information was also passed on to Montoro, which he used as leverage against political opponents. Mentioned here are the left-wing party Podemos and Catalans who support Catalan independence.

Corruption allegations also loom against Pedro Sánchez's ruling Social Democrats, which prompted opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the right-wing PP to call for new elections. The Montoro case and the PP's history do not strengthen his position.