Montoro says there is no evidence against him and links the case to government scandals.

Former Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro has criticized the court ruling indicting him, arguing that it does so "without any evidence" and "coinciding with the current context of genuine scandals within the Spanish government."

Montoro has sent a statement to EFE following the court order that includes him as a suspect for the creation of a "network of influence " to favor gas manufacturing companies with legislative modifications in exchange for "significant payments" to the company Equipo Económico (EE), of which he was a founding partner and president and with which he maintains he has not had any relationship since 2008.

In his statement, Montoro , who served as Finance Minister in the governments of José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy, states that from his first day in office, he was "the target of successive campaigns of insinuation in the press and parliamentary questions and interpellations" regarding the company.

He denounces as "absolutely anomalous" that the judicial investigation, with a secret summary, has lasted seven years after "waiting" until his departure from the Ministry in 2018 to begin it.

And he added: "Yesterday, the secrecy of the investigation was lifted with the order that I am under investigation, all of this coinciding with the current context of genuine scandals within the Spanish government."

Regarding his inclusion as a suspect, Montoro maintains that "it is done without any evidence and with no other motivation , ultimately, than having held the position of minister."

The former minister concludes by expressing his confidence in the institutions of the rule of law and announcing that he will use legal mechanisms to "defend his honor, exercising all legal resources and actions to that end."