The prosecutor maintains that the DEFEX contracts with the Cameroon intermediary "were not real but simulated"

He considers that the former commercial director of the state arms company was "almost a partner" of Bourcier

MADRID, 19 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The anti-corruption prosecutor Conrado Sáez has maintained this Wednesday that the contracts of the semi-public arms company DEFEX with the merchants of the facilitator Philippe Bourcier to win awards in Cameroon "were not real but simulated." He understands that his work did not exist, he was paid for "nothing", and that he was only in charge of collecting the commissions and then transferring them to the different authorities that made it possible for the arms industry to obtain public contracts.

This has been stated in his final report, after raising his conclusions to final with some exception in the fines for individuals, during the hearing held at the National Court for the alleged recruitment and billing operation carried out to obtain public contracts irregularly in Cameroon by paying kickbacks to authorities and public officials of the African country.

In this sense, the prosecutor has exposed that the former commercial director of DEFEX Manuel Iglesias contacted Bourcier because he was the one who knew the country's public authorities and because he allowed him to win contracts with the Cameroonian Ministry of Defense without bidding. And he has stressed that the intermediary did not intervene in the technical negotiation or in the execution of the works "beyond being pending payments and receipts to receive public funds."

"We consider that all the contracts are instrumental contracts, untrue, they are not real because the cause is not lawful," he stressed, later pointing out that the evidence carried out shows that the intermediary did not comply with his contractual commitments.

In this sense, and after noting that the facts that the defendants are accused of have been accredited in the documentary and expert evidence presented during the trial, the Public Ministry has pointed out that the 2016 report of the Civil Guard "is the essential proof". because it shows that the amount of embezzlement of DEFEX public funds has amounted to more than 12.5 million from 2002 to 2016.

He added that due to the idiosyncrasies of the company owned by SEPI, Iglesias was able to "divert" its purpose to allow Bourcier to take over those 12.5 million, thus causing damage to the company and the State.

In line, the prosecutor understands that it is proven that the managers of the DEFEX company erred on an "absolute lack of control" of the work of the commercial director, to the point that according to the record, with the execution of these contracts with the intermediary, "It would not have breached any internal rule or corporate governance agreement."

What's more, he added, there is no disobedience to a superior, but Iglesias is "lord and owner" to commit public spending and to make decisions about commercial agents and the amounts to pay. "He was the owner and lord of deciding the percentages, he determined when to pay (...) orders are executed without examination or control," he lamented.

Thus, he has indicated that the green light could be given to the signing of contracts with the Cameroonian facilitator despite the fact that there was a total absence of justification in the spending directed at the Bourcier companies.

"What we do see is that this lack of control was taken advantage of by Iglesias to allow Bourcier to steal that amount of public funds," he indicated, to later regret that the investigation has not reached the end because he considers that "the Iglesias' behavior is almost Bourcier's partner in this operation".

For the prosecutor, the international corruption structure that is proven in the Cameroon case "is the structure that is reproduced in all DEFEX operations for other projects that are also being investigated by the National Court, such as Angola or Saudi Arabia.

Thus, he explained that in these cases, corruption is determined by the contract provided by the intermediary --Bourcier--, which already establishes commissions that will be paid "pro rata" as DEFEX collects from the Government of Cameroon. "Then it is through the Bourcier companies from which they make payments to the authorities that have the capacity to intervene in the commercial operation," he added.

In this way, the prosecutor has had an impact, the payments to Bourcier become one more expense included in the general contract, but without being justified -he has supported himself to affirm this in the report carried out by the IGAE-, because in reality the expenses that are appropriate are those of DEFEX with the Aresa or Deimos subcontractors. "It is an unjustified expense of a public company, it is an indication of embezzlement," he stressed.

In this sense, the Public Ministry has asserted that the formula chosen by the defendants, "the format of corruption" with a posteriori payments, is difficult for the auditing companies to detect because it is confused as if it were "one more expense." And he has pointed out that it is difficult for invoices to be seen as a payment without cause or justification and that behind it there may be gifts to public officials.

However, it has ruled that the benefit of the company "is intentionally diminished by those who have intervened in the operation" and that Iglesias was aware that those benefits were being reduced.

It should be remembered that both DEFEX and Iglesias sit in the dock, in addition to the president of the company Grupo Aresa Internacional, Óscar López i Salvadó, the commercial director of Deimos Space SLU, Francisco Luque Ramírez, and the legal persons Aresa Merina SL and Deimos Space SLU. Bourcier's whereabouts are unknown.

The facts investigated focus on contracts for spare parts for vehicles, surveillance systems, riot control material and patrol boat armaments, and the investigator accuses the defendants of the crimes of corruption in international commercial transactions (currently corruption in business), document falsification, embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.

After the prosecutor's report, those of the accusations and defenses are pending for this Friday. After this, and once the last word of the defendants is fulfilled, the trial will be seen for sentencing.