Montoro case: seven years in the shadows, few resources, and many internal battles

On April 24, 2018, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) accidentally found an email that raised alarms about the former office of Cristóbal Montoro, Economic Team (EE), and the existing contacts with the Ministry of Finance, under Montoro himself. Judge Rubén Rus sent the email to the Tarragona Provincial Court to decide which judge should investigate it. Since the email had appeared in the context of a case he had opened against a gas company, the court ordered him to take over the investigation. In August, Rus began to unravel the thread. The first thing he did was forward it to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and declare it secret.

In the background, the Mossos d'Esquadra were aware that an Anti-Corruption prosecutor, Carme García Cerdá, had already opened an investigation into the Economic Team. She was the one who had insight into the inner workings of this office, made up of people close to Montoro and former senior Treasury officials. This prosecutor had already handled PP corruption cases, had successfully imprisoned Francisco Granados, former number three to Madrid president Esperanza Aguirre; and had co-led the investigation known as the 'Lezo case,' for which Aguirre's successor, Ignacio González, was also imprisoned. During her time in Valencia, she had handled the Terra Mítica case as a prosecutor.

Judge Rus, a native of Aragon, had arrived two years earlier to head the Tarragona Court of Instruction No. 2, after five years of professional experience. He is a calm, methodical, and unhurried judge, as described by those who have dealt with him. He is not a demanding judge, not a judge given to notoriety, not a protagonist judge, or one of those "star" judges, as they are called in judicial jargon.

Over these seven years, Rus has done his best in his court to move forward with a case that clearly exceeded the capacity of a court with very limited technical, material, and human resources, as legal sources acknowledge. Even the investigating judge has had to scan parts of the case to be able to move forward.

Tensions within the Prosecutor's Office began with the launch of the formal investigation into Montoro in 2021.

When the secrecy of the so-called Montoro case was lifted, a Treasury scheme involving the former minister, eight former senior Treasury officials, and several companies, one of the main criticisms and attacks on the matter was the length of time it has been kept secret, a total of seven years.

The explanation, among others, is the isolation in an investigation that has now become known to have numerous facets. A Mossos d'Esquadra team, under the judge's orders, began analyzing who made up the Economic Team and which companies were behind the AFGIM. The association of gas companies had hired the firm to have a "direct link" with Montoro to push for a legislative reform that would make them pay less taxes.

The first report wasn't long in coming. In November 2018, the officers delivered their first analysis. This was done under the utmost discretion to prevent the Catalan government from using this investigation for political purposes, at a time of heightened tension with the leaders of the independence process imprisoned awaiting trial for rebellion. The Mossos d'Esquadra wanted to prevent partisan exploitation of this case, and they succeeded because it has remained anonymous all these years.

Over the course of a year, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) delivered several reports that went further, pointing to more connections between EE, Montoro, and companies seeking favorable legislative reforms. By February 2019, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office was reporting up to four crimes. The expert from the Tax Agency (AEAT) providing judicial assistance delivered several reports over the years until December 2021. The case had been slowed down over the past year and a half due to COVID-19. However, the judge's order declaring Montoro and a list of other individuals under investigation led to a change of heart between the prosecutor and her superiors. Although she didn't put it in writing, García Cerdá was in favor of the investigating judge tapping the phones of several EE associates. Hence, the Mossos d'Esquadra requested it, and the judge agreed.

The judge had been in the court for two years when he initiated the case, and the prosecutor is handling the Lezo and Púnica cases.

The deputy prosecutor, the second-in-command for the Anti-Corruption Unit, requested annulment, and the Tarragona Provincial Court ruled in his favor. Forty days later, the judge suspended the wiretaps, citing the opinions found within the Prosecutor's Office itself. At the same time, the Catalan government removed the head of the Mossos d'Anti-Corruption Unit. He himself claimed that his dismissal was due to his persecution of politicians and his secrecy regarding leaks.

The case, to a certain extent, was abandoned, but the judge continued to extend the secrecy order while waiting for the Prosecutor's Office to clarify its course. From then on, the prosecutor's briefs were to be endorsed until she received an order not to investigate the emails containing sensitive data from the AEAT to Montoro's team. The prosecutor proposed a meeting of prosecutors in 2023 but lost. Meanwhile, the UCO (Central Office of the Supreme Court) has taken a year and a half to prepare a report on the bank transactions, with limited success for the investigation. With the secrecy now lifted, the defense will attempt to quash a case that has uncovered the operation of an alleged criminal organization within the Treasury.