Jed Neill
THE National Court resumed the hearing with a statement from a financial expert who noticed irregularities in public competitions in Madrid and Malaga.
Between 1999 and 2005 Correa, a businessman accused of bribing PP officials, supposedly reached out to 37 companies, all of which have affiliations with the PP, giving them a competitive edge through hand-me-down documents, short deadlines, and changing the criteria so only companies in-the-know could bid.
The expert said: “As a conclusion there was a constant violation of the principles of publicity and attendance which in-turn increased the cost of the project for the administration.”
He also claimed that smaller payments totaling €12,000 were made with minor contracts and invoices to avoid public tenders.
He added that Correa’s companies ‘had the sheets in advance and adapted and changed their needs to be able to compete.’
The competitions involved road cleaning services, parks and gardens in Madrid and a garbage collection contract.
The President of the Chamber also outlined a timetable of the court proceedings, setting October 9 as the date for the definitive findings of the prosecution.
The reports of the prosecution and the accusations would begin on October 23 but did not say if all the defendants would be there to hear those judgements.
