$500 million and 10,000 Russian mercenaries deployed to the region, in exchange for turning the newly independent Catalonia into a cryptocoin fiscal paradise—this was the deal that a Spanish judge believes MEP and former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont may have been instrumental in brokering before he briefly declared the Spanish region’s independence in 2017 following an illegal referendum. He then fled to Belgium where he has remained a fugitive of Spanish justice ever since.
Fortunately, neither plot came to fruition, but it seems increasingly likely that Puigdemont will face treason charges, complicating his plan to return to Spain under an amnesty granted by the current socialist government.
Treason was not included in the wide amnesty law just passed for Puigdemont and other Catalan separatists.
El Debate reports that Judge Joaquín Aguirre—head of the Barcelona Court of Instruction number 1—has asked the Supreme Court to charge Puigdemont with treason as part of the Voloh case, an investigation into Russia’s interference in Spain using Catalan independence leaders. Regarding Puigdemont, the judge believes he played a key role in several meetings with Russian agents, aimed at raising money for the 2017 referendum and proclamation of independence—both illegal.
The judge also widened the range of defendants within the case to include former Catalan regional president Artur Mas, former councilor Elsa Artadi, and other prominent names within the separatist cause. They are being charged with treason and embezzlement of public funds.
The investigation centers on encounters that Puigdemont and his close allies had with Russian agents. According to the judge, one Russian agent expressly offered Puigdemont help to move independence forward, promising to provide 10,000 Russian soldiers and $500 billion. He asked in return that if Catalonia became independent, it would become a tax haven for cryptocurrencies.
The judge’s ruling follows months of arduous investigation and includes a docket of incriminating documentation.
Though Russian soldiers never appeared on Spanish soil during the tumultuous events of 2017, the judge has found evidence that Puigdemont’s circle received Russian funds to finance the independence operation. The judge ruled this to be an act of treason, as comes under what Spanish law describes as the “induction of war, favor of the enemy, espionage and declaration of war or signing of peace against the provisions of the 1978 Spanish Constitution.”
The Spanish Constitution specifically forbids breaking up the Spanish national territory.
