Monedero asks to annul the money laundering case questioning the judge's competence to investigate him

The co-founder of Podemos asks to nullify the procedure alleging a series of alleged violations

MADRID, 28 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The co-founder of Podemos Juan Carlos Monedero has requested the annulment of the case opened by the judge of the National Court Manuel García Castellón to investigate him for alleged crimes of money laundering and false documents while questioning the jurisdiction of the magistrate to investigate these facts.

In a letter this Thursday, to which Europa Press has had access, Monedero's defense has filed an exceptional incident of annulment before the head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 6, understanding that he would have "raffled the distribution rules to assume the investigation" of this new case, "violating the right to the ordinary judge predetermined by law".

The representation of the former "purple" leader understands that there would have been an infringement of the right to obtain effective judicial protection, as well as an obstacle to the exercise of the right of defense and an infringement of the right to the ordinary judge.

It was last July when García Castellón agreed to open an investigation against Monedero for alleged crimes of money laundering and false documents, in relation to some transfers between his company, Caja de Resistencia Motiva 2 Producciones SL, with the VIU Europa company and the Banco del Alba for the preparation of a consultancy report on the financial spheres of the Alba countries.

In his brief, Monedero also questions "the origin of this procedure", since in his opinion "it is based on actions of illicit origin". "The beginning of the same is based on documentation obtained by illicit means, and that has been obtained as a result of prospective investigations, illegal and lacking any judicial protection", he assures.

And this is so, he points out, insofar as "certain police officials required certain Venezuelan citizens, illegally and without any judicial protection, to obtain documentation in an equally illegal manner, either about Podemos, or about any of its leaders or from those who later They would be founding members of it".

"Documentation that turns out to be the origin of the case and a fundamental element of the reopening of the proceedings and that contaminates the entire case, in addition to being the basis of the following actions that, although declared prospective, have served as the basis to support the subsequent order deducting testimony" , criticism.

On the other hand, Monedero's lawyer charges against the "violation of the summary secrecy and of some actions that during the entire investigation have been kept with a declaration of secrecy for the parties until its conclusion." Thus, he regrets that the limits of the good administration of justice have been crossed, which has harmed his "presumption of innocence".

In this line, the co-founder of Podemos affirms that there was not "sufficient motivation to decree the secrecy of the summary, having produced defenselessness" and being before "a completed procedure". "We understand that there is no other procedural remedy within it than the nullity of the proceedings," he insists.

In his defense, Monedero stresses that "the bank transfer data" for which he is being investigated "is impossible to manipulate, leaving a trace of any action". "It is difficult to distort, cancel or reverse bank transfers from almost 10 years ago. Even more so when it is even intended to investigate the movements of possibly canceled bank accounts, where the operational capacity is materially non-existent," he maintains.

In the order by which he agreed to open this new case, the judge explained that the Criminal Chamber, in the resolution by which it agreed to file the investigation for the alleged illegal financing of Podemos, indicated that if the court deemed it appropriate could deduce testimony for the investigation of economic crimes and falsehoods.

It was at the end of last June when the magistrate filed the investigation that he had been carrying out since October 2021 for the alleged illegal financing of Podemos through Venezuela, thus complying with the provisions of the Criminal Chamber in a resolution where he gave the right to the Prosecutor's Office, which had been arguing that it was a prospective investigation.

The Chamber closed the door to investigations for the crime of illegal financing of political parties, which was incorporated into our Penal Code with the 2015 reform, that is, after the events on which García Castellón put the magnifying glass occurred. However, the Chamber itself left the door open to continue investigating part of the facts, which led to the creation of the procedure in which Monedero is investigated.