30 people indicted over referendum logistics case

17 high-ranking officials and other individuals charged with misuse of public funds as prosecution over 2017 vote preparations goes ahead

A ballot being placed in a ballot box on October 1 2017 in Teresa Miquel i Pàmies de Reus (by Jordi Marsal)
A ballot being placed in a ballot box on October 1 2017 in Teresa Miquel i Pàmies de Reus (by Jordi Marsal) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

April 9, 2019 11:15 AM

A Barcelona court is to go ahead with the prosecution of some 30 people indicted for misuse of public funds, disobedience, deceit, revealing secrets and perversion of justice, following an investigation into the logistics for the independence referendum on October 1, 2017.

With the preliminary investigation completed, the judge overseeing the case decided on Monday to go ahead with the prosecution of the individuals, although the charges of rebellion and sedition made by the Supreme Court were dismissed.

Among those indicted are 17 individuals accused of misuse of public funds, including the Diplocat diplomacy council's former head, the former secretary of public information, and the former Catalan government delegate to the EU.

The court also set joint bail of 5.8 million euros on these 17 indicted individuals. 

The 30 individuals indicted and their posts at the time:

Catalan government

1. Antoni Molons: Catalan government communications secretary; charged with misuse of public funds and perversion of justice.

2. Joaquim Nin: secretary general of the presidency department; charged with misuse of public funds, disobedience and perversion of justice.

3. Jaume Clotet: director general of Catalan government's communications department; charged with misuse of public funds.

4. Josep Ginesta: labor, families and social affairs secretary general; charged with misuse of public funds.

5. David Palanques: head of IT at the labor, families and social affairs department; charged with misuse of public funds.

6. David Franco: head of IT at the labor, families and social affairs department; charged with misuse of public funds.

7. Francesc Sutrías: director general of Catalan government's department of public assets; charged with misuse of public funds and disobedience.

8. Aleix Villatoro: secretary general of Catalan government's institutional relations department; charged with misuse of public funds, disobedience, revealing secrets and perversion of justice.

9. Amadeu Altafaj: Catalan government's delegate to the EU; charged with misuse of public funds and perversion of justice.

10. Natalia Garriga: head of integrated services at the secretary general's office of the vice presidency of the economy department; charged with misuse of public funds.

11. Josué Sallent: director of strategy and innovation at the Catalan government's telecommunications and IT center (CTTI); charged with misuse of public funds.

12. Xavier Puig: head of IT at the Catalan government's foreign action department; charged with misuse of public funds.

13. Meritxell Massó: secretary general of the Catalan government's governance department; charged with disobedience.

14. Montserrat Vidal: member of electoral processes department; charged with disobedience.

15. Marta Garsaball: authorized user of Brussels bank account in the name of the Catalan government's delegation; charged with falsifying documents.

16. Daniel Gimeno: head of data treatment for the register of voters in non-referendum votes; charged with revealing secrets.

Other institutions

17. Albert Royo: secretary general of Diplocat diplomacy council; charged with misuse of public funds and falsifying documents.

18. Frederic Udina: director of IDESCAT statistical institute; charged with disobedience and revealing secrets.

19. Joan Manel Gómez: head of risk at the information security center of the open administration consortium; charged with disobedience.

Businesspeople

20. Pablo Raventós: director general of Unipost; charged with misuse of public funds and disobedience.

21. Rosa Maria Rodriguez: director general of services at T-Systems; charged with misuse of public funds.

22. Josep Masolivé: employee of Fundacio.cat; charged with disobedience.

23. José María Gispert: manager of Indugraf Offset SA; charged with disobedience.

Media

24. Francesc Fabregas: administrator of El Vallenc; charged with misuse of public funds and disobedience.

25. Nuria Llorach: vice president of the CCMA (Catalan public TV and radio corporation); charged with disobedience.

26. Vicent Sanchis: head of TV3 public television; charged with disobedience.

27. Saül Gordillo: head of Catalunya Ràdio; charged with disobedience.

28. Martí Patxot: corporate, sales and marketing director of the CCMA; charged with disobedience.

Public servants

29. Mercedes Martínez: supervisor overseeing work on what was to be data collection center; charged with disobedience.

30. Rosa Vidal: Catalan governmnet's comptroller general; charged with misuse of public funds, disobedience and falsifying documents.