The Ibicencan company of Occupational Risk Prevention Services Mare Nostrum S.L. has filed a criminal action complaint against five judges whom it accuses of the possible commission of the crimes of prevarication, falsehood, discovery and disclosure of secrets and abuse of a public official in the exercise of his function.
The complaint filed before the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJB), which is in the possession of La Voz de Ibiza, requests the opening of an investigation against judges Antoni Rotger Cifre, Salud de Aguilar Gualda, Rocío Nobelda Martín Hernández, Gloria Martín Fonseca and Jaime Tartalo Hernández. This new criminal case derives from the corruption scheme denounced by Mare Nostrum on the investigation of the collection of bribes that shakes the Balearic Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IBASSAL) and the Labor Inspectorate of the Balearic Islands, among which Iago Negueruela, Francina Armengol’s right-hand man, is implicated. In this case, Mare Nostrum accuses the magistrates of criminal acts that would have hindered crucial investigations for the resolution of its case. In this sense, it points against five members of the judicial career whom it accuses of a series of serious crimes in the framework of judicial proceedings related to investigations on administrative irregularities and possible criminal plots.
What they are accused of
Mare Nostrum’s lawyer bases the accusation on four axes: judicial malfeasance, disclosure of secrets, concealment and abuse in the exercise of public functions. Therefore, he accuses the judge of Instruction No. 8 of Palma of issuing unjust resolutions and unnecessarily prolonging the secrecy of the proceedings for more than 17 months, blocking crucial proceedings such as access to e-mails related to the alleged criminal plot. For the Ibizan company, the judge would have extended the secrecy measure in an unjustified manner, preventing the parties from having access to relevant evidence. In addition, he omitted to issue necessary and clear injunctions to investigate emails and records, thus blocking the progress of the case. Meanwhile, the magistrates of the Provincial Court Aguilar, Martin and Nobelda, that they would have issued an unjust order by rejecting, without legal grounds, a complaint to appeal against the inaction of the examining magistrate, According to the complaint, this decision was illegal and shows prevarication.
Confidential information
In addition, it requests that Antoni Rotger be investigated for the possible disclosure of confidential information contained in the judicial file in order to file a disciplinary complaint against the lawyer of Mare Nostrum S.L., using documents from the proceedings in progress. Jaime Tartalo Hernández would have manipulated documents and orders, altering dates to cover up irregularities committed by his fellow magistrates in previous resolutions. And, finally, it states that Antoni Rotger would have used his position to obstruct the investigations and protect the officials pointed out as part of an alleged criminal plot. In addition, it states that “given the seriousness of the allegations”, the General Council of the Judiciary should be informed of “the initiation of this case and the suspension of the defendants from their functions should be decided as a precautionary measure (…) “.
The root cause
The case of Mare Nostrum against IBASSAL and the Labor Inspectorate of the Balearic Islands denounces a series of alleged irregularities and malpractices in the processing of its accreditation file as an external prevention service.
Mare Nostrum has indicated that officials of both entities have allegedly removed, destroyed or concealed key documents in the file. These officials are also accused of having deliberately delayed the processing of the file and of having collaborated with third parties, as the company Diconsal, to hinder the accreditation of Mare Nostrum. In addition, e-mails were submitted suggesting a possible corruption scheme, e-mails were presented suggesting a possible corruption scheme, in which Ibassal officials and the Labor Inspectorate would have acted in collusion with other entities to favor particular interests in exchange for economic benefits. Last June, Judge Rotger Cifre issued an order to reopen the provisional dismissal on the grounds that the new documentation provided could prove the perpetration of the alleged crimes. This new documentation includes substantial evidence indicating that senior officials of IBASSAL and the Labor Inspectorate, along with the former Minister of Labor and Tourism, Iago Negueruela, may have been involved in a scheme of bribery and manipulation of the processing of accreditations. The emails and internal communications presented reveal an alleged scheme to favor the Construction Labor Foundation and another company in the occupational health prevention sector, DICONSAL, in exchange for economic benefits, compromising the impartiality and legality of the administrative process.
