He agrees to cite Santana as being investigated but warns that the witness who pointed him out has “animus” towards the minister

MADRID, 24 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Madrid Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has assured that “it is not strange” that the former Podemos press worker Gara Santana – who appears as being investigated in the Madrid Investigating Court Number 42 – helped her “friend” Irene Montero in 2019 – -now Minister of Equality- with the care of her children and that she did so “without being paid for it”.

This is how the prosecutor Lorena Álvarez Taboada has ruled in a letter, to which Europa Press has had access, in which she responds to the appeal for reform presented by the party treasurer Daniel de Frutos against the judge’s decision to investigate Santana.

Although he sees no crime in Santana’s actions, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has supported Judge Juan José Escalonilla summoning him to testify as an investigator for an alleged crime of embezzlement after a witness claimed that she had acted as a caregiver. Montero’s minors when he was in the press team of the ‘purple’ formation.

The Prosecutor’s Office has warned, however, that “the statement of the witness -former logistics employee of the party- shows animosity towards Irene Montero”. Thus, she has explained that “it is not strange that a friend helps another with two newborns, premature, just out of the hospital. And that she does it without being paid for it.”

In her opinion, “it is not illogical either” that, while Montero was on leave, “political meetings were held at her home given the position that she and Pablo Iglesias occupied in the political party.”

The witness who pointed out Santana testified on March 22 in the first interrogation that was held in this separate piece since the Provincial Court of Madrid ordered the judge to resume the procedure that had been referred to another court. Given the statement, the accusations made by Vox and ProLege sent letters to the court to demand the appearance of the former press worker.

Santana’s interrogation was scheduled for May 10, but was suspended because it was not possible to transfer the witness’ statement to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in time. Legal sources have confirmed to Europa Press that a new date has not yet been set.

Santana is the second employee of the training that is linked to this type of care work, given that the former head of Regulatory Compliance of Podemos Mónica Carmona has already denounced that Teresa Arévalo -former chief of staff of Montero investigated in the case- – acted as “caretaker” of one of the minors. On July 27, however, she assured in court that she could not provide evidence to the case because, since she was dismissed from her position within the party, she could not continue investigating the facts.

At the end of her brief, the prosecutor has specified that “all” the considerations about what really happened with Santana “must be made once the investigation has been heard and all the proceedings have been carried out, and the investigating judge must then adopt one of the resolutions of the article 779LECrim”. Said article is translated into the file of the investigation when the facts do not constitute a criminal offense or when it does not appear sufficiently justified.

Until now, in this separate piece, the judge tried to determine if there was any crime in the trip made to Alicante on October 20, 2019 by the then candidate Irene Montero, her youngest daughter, her then chief of staff Teresa Arévalo and the rest of the team electoral.

Specifically, the payment of two train tickets by United We Can to the minor and to Arévalo, who appears as investigated in the case together with the party manager –Rocío Esther Val– and the treasurer of the formation – -Daniel de Frutos–. All testified before the head of the Court of Instruction Number 46 of Madrid, José María Escribano.

Val and De Frutos confirmed that Arévalo did not act as a nanny for Montero’s children, emphasizing that she was politically responsible for the ‘purple’ formation that at that time received from the parliamentary group, not the party, and that the electoral cost of the trip to Alicante was endorsed at the time by the Court of Auditors. Now, the judge is expected to listen to what Gara Santana has to say.