Spanish – A judge from the Audiencia Nacional asked the Spanish Supreme Court to investigate Pablo Iglesias for crimes in the “Dina Case,” which involved discovery, disclosure of secrets, computer damage, and false allegations.
The Dina Case, which haunts Iglesias, emerged after his then-adviser reported the theft of her cell phone in 2015. Over the years, it was discovered that the alleged theft had been staged by the now Vice President of Spain.
Judge Manuel García Castellón handed over 63 pages to the Supreme Court and also asked to investigate the current third vice-president of Congress and former head of the legal team, Gloria Elizo, and the lawyers of the Podemos party, Marta Flor and Raúl Carballedo, for the same crimes.
According to Spain’s ABC newspaper, the magistrate reports that Iglesias acted in a conscious and planned manner, pretending to the public and his electorate that he was a victim of an event he knew had not happened just a few weeks before a general election.
The daily El Español explains the case well: “Dina Bousselham, former advisor to Pablo Iglesias, denounced the theft of her cell phone in November 2015. In July 2016, OKdiario published screenshots of the memory card from Dina’s phone, and she extended the complaint but did not reveal that her political boss, Pablo Iglesias, had had the card in his possession since January 2016 when it was given to him by the president of Grupo Zeta, Antonio Asensio.”
Why would Iglesias have in his possession information from Bousselham’s phone after the cell phone was reportedly stolen? Now a judge in Spain is investigating whether Dina, Iglesias, and Podemos sought to “instrumentalize” the judicial process for their political benefit.
“There are two possible crimes for which the judge has already found signs of criminality in Pablo Iglesias. One is on grounds of privacy for keeping the memory card from the cell phone of his former advisor in the European Parliament, Dina Bousselham. And another is the obstruction of justice, either by false reports or by the destruction of computer equipment,” says the newspaper El Español.
The magistrate reports that under the instructions given by Iglesias and with the approval of the management of the legal counsel of Podemos, the disappearance of Dina’s phone was presented “as an attempt by the PP government to publish in OK Diario as part of a campaign to harm Iglesias, and therefore, Podemos.”
According to the judge, Iglesias received the micro SD card in good condition, took it with him and kept it in his possession for some time. Later, the card was damaged and is now unusable. “The only possible explanation, based on the evidence gathered, to understand the inoperability of the card, is that the damage was caused while it was in Mr. Iglesias’ possession since the micro card was working at the moment Mr. Asensio handed it over to him, and it no longer works when Mr. Iglesias returns it to him,” says the judge.
Pablo Iglesias and Podemos buried in scandals
On September 30, a former Senator of the Spanish Podemos party denounced Pablo Iglesias’ party for the crime of money laundering. Celia Cánovas, a lawyer, was a member of the Podemos party between 2015 and 2019. She has denounced the party led by vice president Pablo Iglesias for the crime of money laundering.
According to Cánovas, “she made two transfers in January 2018 for a total amount of 3,000 euros.” However, in 2019, the treasurer of Podemos said that the former senator had contributed about 5,000 euros. “There is a difference of 2,000 euros between what she donated to the party and what is in the referred certification,” the complaint states.
The Spanish justice system is also investigating whether Podemos received illegal money from Evo Morales after it was revealed that the company Neurona Consulting received 1.3 million euros for 169 small videos it made for the Bolivian government.
According to the investigations, Neurona Consulting received this money in December 2018, and three months later, it arrived in Spain to work in the campaigns of the Spanish vice president’s party. The company, which specializes in audiovisuals and publicity, is linked to Juan Carlos Monedero, co-founder of Podemos.
The Spanish Court of Auditors also found major irregularities in the finances of the Iglesias party, specifically in the invoices used in the framework of the last general elections. This court is the body that audits the accounts and economic management of the state. It is also responsible for monitoring the accounts of Spain’s political parties.
A report in the newspaper El Mundo revealed that Podemos’ accounts show unjustified invoices, irregular expenses, even payments prohibited by the electoral accounting law. The total irregular expenses detected amounts to 425,037.41 euros (500,546 USD approximately).
OkDiario published an investigation that reveals that the Venezuelan government paid Pablo Iglesias 272,325 USD with state money.
According to the publication, Iglesias received this amount in dollars in his bank account in the tax haven of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Caribbean islands), under the guise of payment for alleged “social development consultancy” in Venezuela. The transfer took place two months after the foundation of the Podemos party in Spain.