Laura Borràs summoned to testify in irregular contracts investigation on July 22

Spain’s Supreme Court investigates senior JxCat MP after Spanish Congress lifted her immunity last week

Junts per Catalunya MP Laura Borràs in a press conference in the Catalan Parliament (by Bernat Vilaró)
Junts per Catalunya MP Laura Borràs in a press conference in the Catalan Parliament (by Bernat Vilaró) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

July 3, 2020 11:40 AM

Senior MP for Junts per Catalunya in the Spanish Congress, Laura Borràs, has been summoned to testify in Spain’s Supreme Court on July 22. 

The Supreme Court is investigating the pro-independence politician for alleged irregular contracts being awarded while she was head of the Institute of Catalan Letters. 

In all, she is accused of breach of official duty, administrative fraud, misuse of public funds, and falsifying documents. 

As an MP in Spain’s lower chamber, Borràs would enjoy parliamentary immunity, but last week the members of Congress voted to lift her immunity, paving the way for the Supreme Court to continue the investigation.

Borràs' alleged corruption case

Borràs, JxCat's spokesperson in the Spanish Congress, is accused of fraudulently selecting a supplier for services worth €259,863. 

The charges, which Borràs has firmly denied, date back to the period between 2013 and 2018 when she was at the head of the Institute of Catalan Letters, a public body in charge of promoting Catalan literature.

According to investigators, there are signs that Borràs could have fraudulently allocated public contracts to a friend and avoided a public tender by splitting the service into various ones that did not surpass the minimum threshold over which tenders are obligatory.