Spain's Supreme Court is to hear a petition to open a new case against the Catalan president in exile and MEP, Carles Puigdemont. As digital daily El Español reports, a court in Girona has decided to elevate the new complaint to the Spanish high court, which is based on alleged crimes of malfeasance, administrative fraud and false documention relating to the use of funds of Girona's water company, Agissa, when Puigdemont was mayor of the Catalan city between 2011 and 2016.
The opening of such as cause by the Supreme Court would entail the drafting of a new European arrest warrant for Puigdemont, which, in the event of the approval of Spanish justice's application for the MEP's immunity to be waived by the European Parliament, would not have to go along the same difficult path as the previous warrants, because of the different charges involved. Unlike the rebellion and sedition offences for which Puigdemont is wanted in the wake of the independence referendum, the hypothetical new accusations - malfeasance, fraud and false documentation - fall into the category of corruption offences, and thus would be exempt from the requirement to prove double criminality - that the events in question constitute a crime in both Spain and the country, probably Belgium, that would receive the warrant for Puigdemont's extradition.
"Indications of criminality"
For the judge of the Girona court, there are "indications of criminality" against Carles Puigdemont after investigating the alleged irregularities from 2016 onwards following a complaint made by the left-wing pro-independence CUP party over the management of the water utility Agissa, a mixed company owned 20% by the city councils of Girona, Salt and Sarrià de Ter, with the remaining 80% in hands of the private firm Girona SA.
According to El Español, which had access to the ruling of judge Elena Román, the irregularities were related to the purchase of a collection of art pieces worth 4.7 million euros with municipal funds via an extraordinary levy on water that, in theory, had to be spent on the same utility supply service.
The judge believes that Puigdemont, then mayor of Girona, validated the purchase with the "illicit" use of money from the extraordinary water levy.