The European Prosecutor's Office is investigating alleged embezzlement of funds from the Barcelona quantum computer.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is investigating Spain's first quantum computer, built with 100% European technology , for alleged misappropriation of EU funds. This project was presented last February and is part of an initiative by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service.

The EPPO is maintaining an open investigation given its powers and the fact that the quantum computer has been partially funded with Next Generation funds from the European Union, as reported by El Confidencial and confirmed by ABC.

Thus, according to this information, agents from the Economic and Tax Crime Unit (UDEF) showed up this Wednesday at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the location of the computer since September 2024. The agents allegedly seized various documents to trace the route taken by the eight million public funds.

This initiative was presented in February at an event attended by BSC Director Mateo Valero and Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Administration Óscar López. This new quantum computer opens the door to revolutionary applications in healthcare, cybersecurity, logistics, communications, and finance, among others. It is a highly coveted technology, and one in which tech giants like the US and China are investing heavily.

After learning of the news, the BSC assured ABC that it "complies with the public contracts law" and " acts with complete transparency." "In light of the information published today regarding a tender document, the BSC states that it complies with the public sector contracts law and is permanently subject to the scrutiny of the competent supervisory bodies. Following the usual procedures in these cases, the BSC is providing the required information and acting with complete transparency and actively with the competent bodies," the Catalan organization stated.

On the other hand, the Ministries of Digital Transformation and Public Service and Science, Innovation and Universities have stated to ABC that they are "fully willing" to collaborate with the EPPO. They also explain that this quantum computer is part of the Quantum Spain project, for which €22 million has been allocated from the Recovery Plan and which "aims to create a Spanish quantum ecosystem through the development of a high-performance quantum computer. This quantum computer is now a reality at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, which was commissioned to develop it."

They explain that, for its development, the State Secretariat for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence "previously verified that the conditions required by the regulations for authorizing subcontracting for the execution of the works were met."

However, the BSC governing council and the Ministry have requested "information related to the contract" from Valero, director of the BSC. "Based on the information provided, an extraordinary governing council meeting will be convened," sources from the Ministry of Science indicated.