• Catalonia: Garzón and former Government officials denounced for fraud in the management of Intervida

Some 13 years after the order of the then magistrate of the National Court, Baltasar Garzón, to investigate the heads of the NGO Intervida, which led to the intervention of the entity by the Generalitat, the judicial process is still open, although now those who are under suspicion are a former public official and the three judicial administrators appointed by the representatives of the Department of Justice.

The Barcelona Court has upheld an appeal presented by the lawyers of Rafael Puertas, one of the founders of the NGO, against the decision of the Court of Instruction number 14 of Barcelona to archive the case against Santiago Ballester, former director general of Justice and Legal Entities of the Generalitat, for the crimes of threats, coercion and prevarication, as well as the three judicial administrators appointed after the judicial intervention of Intervida by the National Court for alleged irregularities in their management.

In 2017 Puertas, represented by lawyers Daniel Vosseler and Leire López, filed a complaint in court against Garzón, former Generalitat officials, including the then Minister of Justice Montserrat Tura, the judicial administrators and directors of Educo, the entity which was left with the Intervida assets after merging with another NGO.

The complaint considered that several crimes had been committed during the management of the entity while it was being investigated at the National Court before the case was archived.

In this sense, Puertas charged former public officials and Educo employees with the crimes of fraud, prevarication, misappropriation and influence peddling, and Garzón with denial of assistance, concealment and omission of the duty to prosecute crimes.

However, the court opened proceedings against a former official of the Generalitat, Santiago Ballester, for allegedly threatening Puertas after the judicial investigation initiated in 2007 was shelved for allegedly diverting the money collected through the sponsorship of children to activities that had nothing to do with the social purpose of this entity.

Puertas denounced that when he was exonerated in 2014 and tried to return to Intervida, the representatives of the General Directorate of Legal Entities of the Government prevented him.

Later, the complainant expanded his accusation in the Court of Instruction number 14 of Barcelona "for the alleged commission of irregularities in the management carried out by the judicial administrations of the Intervida Group, including the sale of goods."

Puerta denounced that with the intervention of the entity the majority of solidarity projects in several Third World countries were lost, mainly in South America, although the NGO continued to raise funds from partners and sponsors and accumulated 120 million euros in its accounts.

At the end of last year, the 14th Court of Barcelona closed the investigation, considering that there were not enough indications of prevarication in the appointment of the administrators of the Intervida foundation or of alleged irregularities in their management, as well as there was no crime of alleged threats or coercion of the former position of the Generalitat.

The lawyers for Puertas appealed, claiming that no statements had been taken from the defendants in this proceeding, nor had the documentation provided been taken into account.

For this reason, the Barcelona Court considers the declaration as being investigated "essential", so they must be accompanied by lawyers, the former official of the Generalitat and the three judicial administrators before the court to determine whether or not a crime was committed.

In this way, the magistrates estimate the appeal presented by the Puertas lawyers and urge that these procedures be carried out before deciding on the future of this case.

13 years later, the Intervida judicial procedure is still alive.

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