Jaume Matas's time in regional politics will be remembered for decades, not only for the corruption cases that landed him in jail, but also for the financial burden he placed on the citizens of the Balearic Islands, who are still footing the multimillion-euro bill for his follies. The regional government will pay the final 2.7 million euros for the Palma Arena project in July: this infrastructure will have cost a total of 89.2 million euros, almost three times the initial estimate, and more than double the original tender amount.

The People's Party (PP) believes that Víctor de Aldama's court confession confirms that the government led by Francina Armengol allowed public funds belonging to the citizens of the Balearic Islands to enrich the network linked to José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García through the purchase of face masks during the pandemic. According to the party's general coordinator and PP spokesperson in the Balearic Parliament, Sebastià Sagreras, Aldama admitted that the profits obtained from the sale of face masks were distributed among the members of the network, and that some of the funds came from contracts with the Armengol government. "Today we know that the money of the citizens of the Balearic Islands ended up being turned into commissions and kickbacks for Ábalos and Koldo," he emphasized. Sagreras denounced that "none of this would have been possible without the collaboration of the Armengol government," which he accused of "opening the door wide for them."

President Francesc Antich left office in the 1990s promising a progressive future, but Marga Prohens ends 2025 worried about the rise of the far right. Along the way, the Balearic Islands have been one of the most blatant examples of corruption in the Spanish state. The imprisonment of Maria Antònia Munar (Unió Mallorquina) in 2013 is one of the essential snapshots for remembering this first quarter-century. These have also been 25 years of major mobilizations: the most recent against tourist overcrowding and housing prices.

The judge of the National Court investigating the hydrocarbons case has summoned Marc Pons, from Menorca, and Juan Ignacio Díaz Bidart, former chiefs of staff to ex-ministers Teresa Ribera and Reyes Maroto, respectively, to testify as witnesses on January 28. This is stated in a court order, to which Europa Press had access, from Judge Santiago Pedraz. The judge has also summoned businessman Claudio Rivas, whom investigators consider the alleged leader of the hydrocarbons network linked to the company Villafuel, to appear on the same day as a suspect. Furthermore, the judge summoned businessman Víctor de Aldama again as a defendant on January 29. On January 30, the businesswomen Carmen Pano, who claims to have delivered 90,000 euros at the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street, and her daughter, Leonor González, will testify. Judge Pedraz has summoned the Director General of Energy Policy and Mines, Manuel García, and Manuel Salles, a company administrator, to testify as witnesses on the 29th. On the 30th, it will be Álvaro Gallego's turn; he may be linked to €108,500 withdrawn in cash, according to investigators.

He Judge José Castro He became famous throughout Spain when he decided to seat a member of the Royal Family, Infanta Cristina, in the dock for the first time. Eleven years later, now retired, he takes stock in the book The Nóos case. The full truth behind the trial that shook Spain., and maintains that the king's younger sister actively participated in and benefited from the crimes committed by Iñaki Urdangarin.

The National Police and Civil Guard carried out a new operation this Friday related to the drug money laundering ring that was dismantled earlier this month in Mallorca. According to sources involved in the investigation, Europa Press has learned that several people have been arrested and several searches have been carried out at different locations on the island. This Friday's arrests follow the three that took place last Tuesday, when three people allegedly acting as front men were captured. The case remains secret and is in the hands of Palma's Investigative Court No. 7.

A discovery of almost 700 kilos of cocaine has been key to the massive anti-money laundering operation in Mallorca, which erupted this Monday with searches of various properties in Mallorca and sent lawyer Gonzalo Márquez and the leader of the United Tribuns motorcycle gang, Stefan Milojevic, to prison.

Certainly, corruption is unacceptable: public money is sacred, and it's not true that this malpractice is intrinsic to human nature; crime is also intrinsic, and we don't tolerate it. However, what is also true is that corruption is not new, far from it. Perhaps it was even worse in the past. The reason is that exactly six centuries ago, an audit—yes, apparently they were already doing it back then—discovered that those responsible for the public administration of Mallorca had embezzled, in 20 years, six fiscal years' worth of budget: the equivalent of around 3.8 billion euros today. It was, in all likelihood, the largest case of corruption in the history of the Archipelago.