Cuadrifolio charged to the Board of ten million euros in seven years

Cuadrifolio made gifts to positions on the Board and to leaders of the PSOE

The Criminal Court number 13 of Madrid concludes that the regional government of Castile-The Stain under the mandate of the PSOE rigged in a systematic way public contracts, paid premiums and came to the award of 2.8 million public with mere verbal commands to Cuadrifolio, the company to which the party will charge their work of the election in various areas of Spain.

The judge Francisco Manuel Bruñén endorse the veracity of all information published by THE WORLD about this scandal, notes the “special treatment” given to this company and it absolves journalists Casimiro García-Abadillo, Santiago Gonzalez, Eduardo Inda and Esteban Urreiztieta of the commission of the offences of libel and slander that attributed to the Group Cuadrifolio, property of Manuel Téllez.

According to the judgment, the Government Spanish manchego, under the presidency of José María Barreda carried out “a massive award of contracts under” the company, to which the PSOE undertook in parallel the organization of their meetings. “We have seen lots of examples of hires administrative present evidence of fractionation, with the direct award of contracts relating to the same event or service to various companies in the same business group,” says the resolution.

In this line, the court ruling explains that “there are numerous occasions in which the direct award of contracts is done by the limit amount of minor contracts, that is, for 12,000 euros, or very close to this figure”. “This way,” abounds to the judge, “occurs a direct award, without the need of subjecting the procurement to tender, because the processing of the file required only the approval of the expenditure, and the incorporation into the same of the corresponding bill”.

in Front of these irregular practices that have been repeated in other major cases of corruption as the plot Gürtel, the judge recalls that “the administrative legislation stated that the general rule is that you do competitions or negotiated procedures, not being lawful, the splitting of the object of the contracts to avoid the requirements of competition and advertising”. Also, in terms of the comparison established by this paper between the plot Gürtel, and the case Cuadrifolio, the judge considered that “it cannot be said that the holder is disconnected from the content of the information and is not presented as unnecessarily insulting or vexing”. On the contrary, considers the judge that in this case “the imputation of criminal acts are covered by the legitimate exercise of the right to information, there is no mood to defame, condemn, or injure”.

But the splitting of contracts is not the only illegal practice which the judge considers to be credited. “There are also cases in which in the case of a negotiated procedure without advertising are invited to companies of the same group Cuadrifolio or one that does not belong to that group but that he usually works with the same”.

The judge notes that at the time in the WORLD published the scandal, “the journalists had authentic information” about the contracts as well as the testimony of a former worker Cuadrifolio. And that they referred directly to “amaños”. Well, the judge notes that “from an objective perspective, it is evident that in the direct awards is produced a contact is also direct between the contracting authority and the contractor”. He adds that “if you repeatedly produce awards in the limit amount of the contract less, it is suspicious understanding, connivance or favour to the contractor in question.”

To this conclusion not only came to this newspaper, but as reflected in the judgment, also was the treasurer of the Board of Castilla-La Mancha, whose certificates these payments “dump data that can’t be ignored”. Thus, “a total of 415 payments to the companies of the group Cuadrifolio, 338 correspond to contracts awarded directly, and a good part of them for the maximum amount for the direct award”.

But not only has been found a “massive award of smaller contracts,” but that “it is significant the number of cases in which it is not known the exact content of the contracts”. “It is a constant throughout the procedure, the lack of complete documentation on the procurement” impact.

According to remember the judge, THE WORLD not only denounced these “irregularities”, but the existence of overpricing in the contracts. In this section, the judgment stresses that “surprise a few cases in which or through indication it is estimated that the price is very high”. For example, “the inclusion of a logo in the web of Castilla-La Mancha in the Fair of the Cheese for the amount of 17.700 euro”. “Or the ‘assembly of a table and furniture auxiliary hall’ for an amount of 59.035,50 euros”.

In terms of the premiums continues to the judge explaining that she has also warned “the Juridical office of the Board”, which has come to certify, to cite another example, of how “overwhelming and devastating” that “that 2.841.047,71 euros billed to Cuadrifolio Design, SL, respond to a recruitment purely verbal and was not followed any type of award procedure”. “Thus, the information related to premiums cannot be estimated as reckless from the moment that it is even affirmed by a service officer, the Legal Advice of the Board”.

“In conclusion,” continues the judge, “the information published is estimated to exceed the test of veracity in regard to which there is evidence of treatment in the public procurement in favor of the Group Cuadrifolio by the fractionation of the administrative agreements, or negotiated procedures, in which invited companies of the same group”. “And there are also indications of some overpricing in the procurement,” he adds. Therefore, “the public relevance of the information was more than evident, as was the cleanliness in the public procurement, understandings between contracting authority and contractor and the possible existence of a corruption case”.

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