"Lying in parliamentary and judicial settings has consequences." The first vice-president and Minister of Economy and Finance, Antoni Costa, has lashed out at the leader of the PSIB and current president in Congress, Francina Armengol

The first vice-president and Minister of Economy and Finance, Antoni Costa, has lashed out at the leader of the PSIB and current president in Congress, Francina Armengol. The latest report from the UCO of the Civil Guard, which is investigating possible irregularities in the mask case, states that Armengol spoke with one of the main investigated individuals, Koldo García, about the purchase of sanitary material that is now under judicial scrutiny. Nevertheless, the then president of the Government soon delegated the management of the contract to the director of management of the Health Service of the Balearic Islands, Manuel Palomino. Costa has insinuated that Armegol did not tell the truth when she denied having been aware of this contract, as well as when she said she did not remember speaking with García. Furthermore, he has accused her of opening the doors of the Consulate to the offenders: "She let the corrupt trap in up to the kitchen."

The President of the Congress and former Government Minister, Francina Armengol, delegated the management of the purchase of masks during the covid-19 pandemic to the management director of the Balearic Health Service, Manuel Palomino, according to the report by the UCO of the Civil Guard. The UCO has delivered to the judge of the National Court investigating possible irregularities in the relationship of administrations with the business group of entrepreneur Víctor de Aldama a report on the dealings they made through Koldo García, who was then the advisor to José Luis Ábalos, to sell sanitary material to the Balearic Islands.

The Balearic Minister of Health, Manuela García, stated this Tuesday in Parliament that between 60% and 96% of IB-Salut's contracts exceeding €100,000 during the pandemic violated the Public Procurement Law. García presented the preliminary results of the audit commissioned by the Government in response to a question from Vox deputy Patricia de las Heras. The Minister explained that an "independent company" reviewed 60 contracts awarded through emergency procedures during the previous legislative term's COVID-19 response and asserted that the report justifying the contracts was prepared after the work had already been carried out in "most cases." She also explained that the contracts were not formalized in writing, and there was no certificate of conformity or receipt of materials. Furthermore, "a significant portion of the contracts" were not uploaded to the Government's profile on the public procurement portal. On the other hand, García referred to the information that has appeared in the media regarding alleged irregularities in the contracting of companies like Soluciones de Gestión, at the epicenter of the Koldo case. For this reason, García assured that the Government will demand every "last cent" that may have been awarded in these contracts with alleged "links to corrupt schemes," as in the case of the fraudulent face masks. The councilor pointed out that the Executive is not afraid of audits and investigations, but rather promotes them. For his part, De las Heras criticized the Government for failing to meet the six-month deadline it set to clarify the situation and demanded results to find out what happened with the Balearic branch of the Koldo case.

The former director of IB-Salut during Francina Armengol's presidency, Juli Fuster, stated this Tuesday in the Senate that the offer of masks from Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a Empresas (Management and Support Solutions for Companies) – a company linked to the Koldo plot – came from a ministry, although he clarified that he does not know if it was the Ministry of Industry. "Who would have doubted the Spanish government?" asked the former head of IB-Salut during his appearance before the Senate's commission of inquiry into the ramifications of the Koldo case.

"Good morning. I can see you for 15 seconds to give you the paperwork I mentioned regarding the application," Koldo wrote to Marc Pons on July 8, 2021, three months after sending him a photograph with the receipt for the electronic registration of Villafuel's application. These are messages to which Europa Press had access and which were intercepted by agents of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard and incorporated into the hydrocarbons case, according to the agency. Villafuel is the company that, according to the investigation, is at the epicenter of an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud in the hydrocarbon sector.

The Speaker of Congress and former Prime Minister of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, insisted this Tuesday in the Senate that she did not know the alleged facilitator of the Koldo plot, Víctor de Aldama, and that the meeting took place in his capacity as advisor to the former president of Air Europa, Pepe Hidalgo, in the context of the pandemic. Armengol also denied having exchanged messages with him. "I have neither lied nor withheld information," Armengol repeatedly stated in her second appearance—13 months after the first—before the Senate's commission of inquiry into all the ramifications of the Koldo case, after Vox spokesperson Ángel Pelayo accused her of lying during the initial questioning. Armengol assured the Vox senator that she will not be found involved in "any corruption scandal": "I am extremely calm." In this context, the Speaker of Congress began her speech by explaining that in her previous appearances before the various investigative committees, she had shared "everything she remembered" and "everything she knew."