The judge of the Acuamed case asks Anticorruption if it modifies its requests for the embezzlement reform

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The reduction in penalties for embezzlement has begun to have an impact on corruption cases.

The judge of the National Court investigating the

,

, has asked

to adjust its last request in the case to the reform that comes into force this week.

Specifically, the magistrate requests the Prosecutor's Office to review his request to process the matter through summary proceedings, reserved for crimes that carry penalties of more than nine years in prison.

This requirement was undoubtedly met with the regulation of the crime up to now in force.

However, as of Thursday, certain types of embezzlement in which public funds are not directed to personal or third-party enrichment carry much lower penalties.

In these, the investigations would no longer be processed as summary proceedings, but more quickly as abbreviated procedures.

"This new norm", says the judge, "contemplates the reform of article 432 of

, modifying in addition to its content the penological limits. [...] The truth is that the reform could mean a review of the prosecutor's letter in the extent to which it would be necessary to give a new transfer for the purposes of assessing whether or not the transformation to summary proceeds".

The request to the Prosecutor's Office to ratify or modify its request occurs in the letter in which Judge Gadea extends the investigation of a case that was opened in 2015 for another three months. Corrupt actions involving the company are investigated in the case state public

(Acuamed), which allegedly accepted millionaire commissions from construction companies in exchange for inflated awards between the years 2007 and 2014. The center of the

of the Civil Guard was

, former general director of Acuamed.

In an order dated December 29, to which Europa Press has had access, the reinforcing magistrate of the Central Investigating Court Number 6 requests the prosecutor in charge of the case,

, to indicate whether, "in view of the reforms introduced by LO 14/2022 of December 22, maintains the request for conversion to summary".

Fraudulent award of works

In the branch of

investigated in the National Court, alleged crimes of embezzlement are investigated, as well as fraud, bribery, falsehood, prevarication, influence peddling, belonging to a criminal organization and machination to alter the price of public tenders.

The court directed by

focuses on the alleged fraudulent awarding of works by Acuamed to a dozen companies and on the falsification of certifications and settlements to significantly increase the amounts received by the winners of the public body contracts.

It was on November 29 when the anti-corruption prosecutor asked to transform it into a summary procedure, a procedure that is followed when investigating facts that could constitute crimes with penalties of more than nine years in prison, as well as the investigative statement of the accused.

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• National audience

• Civil Guard

• Corruption

• Acuamed case

• Justice