At least six people have been detained by the Spanish civil guard as part of an investigation into the funding sources for the illegal referendum on Catalan independence in 2017 and the residence of former President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont in Belgium, news agency Vanguardia reported on Wednesday, citing sources
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) At least six people have been detained by the Spanish civil guard as part of an investigation into the funding sources for the illegal referendum on Catalan independence in 2017 and the residence of former President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont in Belgium, news agency Vanguardia reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
"There is a list amounting to about thirty businessmen and politicians connected with the independence movement who are accused of the crimes of embezzlement, money laundering and abuse of authority," the sources familiar with the investigation told Vanguardia.
Investigators are to find out if Puigdemont's residence in Brussels and other expenses related to the Catalan independence process were financed through a fraudulent subsidy granted by the Barcelona provincial council to the organizations allegedly dedicated to international cooperation.
According to the latest information, former Head of the Convergence and Union party David Madi, ex-Leader of the Republican Left of Catalonia party Xavier Vendrell and businessmen Oriol Soler, Toni Fuste and Roc Aguilera have been already detained. Head of Puigdemont's office in Barcelona Josep Lluis Alay has also been detained, as was confirmed by Puigdemont on his Twitter page.
Last October, the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced 12 Catalan politicians for their involvement in the illegal independence referendum in 2017. Later on, the court issued European and international arrest warrants for Puigdemont and for three former members of the Catalan government.
Carles Puigdemont fled from Spain to Belgium after the declaration of the Catalan independence by the regional parliament at the end of October 2017 was deemed unconstitutional by the central government.
