The Spanish Court of Auditors ruled on Tuesday that former Catalonia officials must pay back $6.426 million allegedly spent illegally between 2011 and 2017.
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Around 40 politicians including independence leader Carles Puidgemont will have to compensate the government as the money they used for "external political" activities such as that invested in the Catalonia independence movement is considered embezzlement.
Avui el “Tribunal” de Cuentas comunicarà la quantitat de diners que ens volen robar. Una quantitat que ja ha explicat abastament la premsa, amb tot luxe de detalls. Coses de la democràcia espanyola, on el franquisme continua viu perquè el cap de l’Estat li deu la corona.
— Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) June 29, 2021
"Right now, Gonzalo Boyes has only 3 hours to read 504 pages of the report of the Spanish Inquisition called the Court of Accounts, and then he will only have 10 minutes to make the allegations, regardless of the number of people he defends. Francoism in substance and form," Puidgemont said via Twitter upon the announcement, highlighting the irregularities of the ruling.
On the other hand lawyer Gonzalo Boyes, who defends some of the politicians also turned to Twitter to denounce the ruling. "I do not think that it is necessary to discuss each figure raised by the Court of Auditors, the questioning must derive from the whole of the procedure that is incoherent, arbitrary, partial, not rigorous, illegal, and unconstitutional," Boyes said.