The Supreme Court judge investigating the Catalan government for last year's independence referendum and the subsequent declaration of independence, Pablo Llarena, has opened a separate branch of the investigation which he has declared secret. In the order the judge has sent to the parties involved he says that the injunction, which only affects this part of the investigation, will last for 15 days. The judge opened the new line last Friday, 12th January, just after denying Oriol Junqueras permission to attend the opening sessions of the new Catalan Parliament in person as a deputy-elect and as lawyers for Joaquim Forn and Jordi Sànchez were presenting filings requesting, again, their release on bail.
Legal sources tell El Nacional that the new investigation is closely related to the alleged illegal financing of the independence process. In fact, the new branch of the investigation, revealed by the magistrate last Thursday when ordering police to investigate transfers to Brussels is pointed in this direction.
The judge's move makes it clear that a new stage of the case is starting under his direction. Previously Llarena had only heard from the accused who had asked for release from preventive detention and resolved appeals. Now his investigation is starting. Last Thursday he ordering the calling of witnesses and the claiming of what he considers to be key evidence like Josep Maria Jové's Moleskine agenda, telephone calls between those accused by court number 13 (see below) and the transfers made to Brussels between the 21st September and 10th October 2017. Jové was secretary general of the Catalan Vice-presidency and Economy ministry.
Opening this new branch of the case, Llarena is following the normal procedure whereby the judicial police, in this case the Civil Guard, ask to be able to tap phones to record conversations among those under investigation and to prepare searches to find evidence pertinent to the investigation. As such, the options cannot be discounted that the injunction is hiding new tapped phones or preparations to enter into more offices and residences.
Everything suggests the idea that the Supreme Court judge has started his own investigation to complete what he has so far and that this has involved opening a new branch to investigate whether the referendum was financed with public funds, in the context of the crime of misuse of public funds the public prosecutor includes in their accusations and that he needs new evidence pertaining to the initial suspects as well as those newly charged who still haven't been called to testify.
The case includes parts coming from the National Audience court, from the High Court of Justice of Catalonia and the investigation carried out by Barcelona's court of instruction number 13, which offered evidence as the case was progressing in Madrid. Now Llarena wants his own reports before the testimony by the new suspects. To give time for this they haven't yet been called to court, instead he's first called for witnesses and documentation from Barcelona's court number 13.