Armengol in the mask trial: "I never received orders or pressure to make a contract"

PalmFrancina Armengol has completely disassociated herself from the purchase of masks that the Government signed with the company Soluciones de Gestión, investigated within the framework of the Ábalos Case. In a written declaration addressed to the Supreme Court (TS), the president of Congress and former head of the Balearic Executive has stated that she never managed the contracts or gave any instructions in this regard. She has also denied having received any directives from the alleged leaders of the corrupt scheme: former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos, his former advisor Koldo García, and the businessman Víctor de Aldama. "I never received orders or pressure to make a contract," she stated.

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office stated in its indictment that the three would have used their "valuable influence" and contacts to favor their interests through contracts with the public administration. This Tuesday, in the first session of the trial at the Supreme Court, Armengol's declaration was read, as well as that of the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, regarding the contracts signed by the Canary Islands government.

In the case of the contract signed in the Islands, it concerns a purchase of masks worth 3.7 million euros. Despite the fact that two months earlier the Canary Islands Health Service (IB-Salut) had received an unfavorable internal analysis of the product, the organization issued a certificate of conformity with the mask order. Three years later, after the regional elections, the outgoing Government filed a claim against the awarded company.

As she already explained in the appearances she made in Congress, the Senate, and the Balearic Parliament, Armengol emphasized the health emergency situation that existed when the contract under investigation was signed (in 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic). "I was unaware of the processing of any file; the presidency of the Government does not make contracts or transmit instructions on whom to hire," she assured, in addition to insisting that it was IB-Salut that managed the acquisition of sanitary material, "with technical criteria."

At that time, she pointed out, "the ordinary market and usual purchasing channels had disappeared, the production of that sanitary material was notoriously insufficient, and it had to be acquired necessarily through emergency contracts, competing on a global scale with all countries and regions." Furthermore, the Islands, due to their insular condition, presented additional supply difficulties. "In the last week of April 2020, we had only received 7,000 FFP2 masks from the Ministry of Health, when we were using more than 100,000 per week," she said as an example.

For this reason, she continued, "Government members were informed that any contact or offer should be immediately forwarded to the Health services". In this context, García, as an advisor to Ábalos, contacted the Balearic administration. Although the summary reproduces WhatsApp message exchanges between her and García, the president has denied remembering them or having any knowledge of them. "As a consequence of the summary's publication in the media, I learned that he sent me some WhatsApp messages," she said: "What I can say is that in any case I would have immediately forwarded it to the contracting authority".

"I have never spoken with García or any other person" about the contracts, she defended. "The only communications with Ábalos were regarding the closure of ports and airports, and I have never participated in any conversation with Aldama about the contract under investigation or any other", she confirmed: "As president, I have never contacted any company to discuss public contracts".

Torres defends the contract with "rigor"

For his part, Torres has reviewed in his statement the orders for masks placed by the Canary Health Service with Soluciones de Gestión, the company at the epicenter of the scheme: five million for an amount of 12.3 million euros. As he explained, he became aware of the contracting files when García contacted him to express "his concern about the lack of response and breach of contractual conditions" by the Canary government with Soluciones de Gestión.

"Upon verifying that there were pending commitments to be fulfilled between the Canary Health Service and the company Soluciones de Gestión, I followed up on these files to ensure that the correct administrative response was given," he argued. Nevertheless, he insisted that the procedure was carried out with "rigor".