The report which the Supreme Court judge running the investigation into last year's Catalan referendum, Pablo Llarena, requested from the Civil Guard, Spain's gendarmerie, claims that the Catalan government spent 1,915,067.22 euros (£1.7 million, $2.4 million) of public money organising and holding the referendum on independence on 1st October 2017.
This report, which was released early this morning, joins the unusual and unprecedented confrontation between judge Llarena and Spanish minister Montoro, in which the first is asking the second to justify his claim no public money was spent on the referendum. The paradox is that whether misuse of public funds is demonstrated or not, Montoro will be affected, because if there wasn't any misuse of funds, that charge will fall apart, and if there was any, he would have failed in his role overseeing the Catalan government's account from the Spanish treasury.
The bad atmosphere is also seen in the fact it was this very morning, after his request to the minister for an explanation, that Llarena lifted the secrecy injunction on the separate part of the investigation into the possible misuse of public funds. The lifting of the injunction, and the Civil Guard's claim that the public funds used reached 1,915,067.22 euros were revealed by the acusación popular, far-right political party Vox. An acusación popular, in Spanish law, is a method for a party to form part of a prosecution without showing direct harm suffered.
Llarena against Montoro
This Civil Guard claim directly contradicts statements by the treasury minister in an interview published on Monday by the newspaper El Mundo. In the interview, Montoro denied that public money was used to cover the expenses involved in the referendum, a claim he has made before. This led to Llarena asking this Wednesday for an explanation "in the shortest timeframe possible" of his statement.
The treasury minister itself, for its part, made a commitment this Wednesday to providing judge Llarena with all the documentation detailing its oversight of the Catalan budget. In a statement, the ministry said that it is positive about the judge's order, as it gives them an opportunity to provide the court with information about all its actions overseeing Catalan finances, something it hadn't yet been asked to provide.
Subsidies for Junts pel Sí
The report, according to newspaper La Vanguardia, claims that subsidies for the parliamentary party of the then-governing Junts pel Sí were diverted to organising the referendum. Specifically, it mentions a 17,690 euro payment from Junts pel Sí for an event at the National Theatre of Catalonia.
This event, according to the report, was aimed at encouraging participation in the referendum, specifically encouraging 'yes' votes. According to the Civil Guard, if the act was managed and paid for by Junts pel Sí, it would prove the use of public subsidies for an event related to the referendum.
The register of Catalans abroad and advertising campaign
The report also reveals other alleged misuse of public funds, like 224,835 euros to create a register of Catalans living outside of Spain which, in the police force's opinion, should also be considered referendum expenditure.
As for the official advertising campaign to promote turnout, the Civil Guard says that 277,804 euros was spent on adverts broadcast by the CCMA (Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation). This money, even though one of the campaigns, with the slogan "you were born with the ability to decide", avoided talking about the referendum, is considered part of its organisation.
Likewise, as part of searches of private mailing company Unipost looking for ballot slips, five invoices were allegedly found for a total of 979,661 euros, addressed to different parts of the government.
Mauri, "aggressive"
The report also describes Òmnium Cultural's spokesperson, and its de facto leader since the imprisonment of its president, Jordi Cuixart, as "aggressive". "His messages have been aggressive against the state, calling for the release of those they believe to be political prisoners", says the Civil Guard. The report, dated 27th March, claims that Òmnium managed 61,879 euros from public funds.