The Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint for defrauding the Treasury, leaving it open to possible derivations in the form of embezzlement and money laundering, against four businessmen, including Miguel Ángel Ramírez, president of UD Las Palmaswhich sold medical supplies to the Government of the Canary Islands during the pandemic worth 22.9 million euros.
The defendants are, in addition to Ramirezthe former councilor in the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and former regional deputy Lucas Bravo from Laguna, Christian Cerpa Espino and Noel Jammal Fernández, Ramírez himself confirmed to EFE.
In the complaint, the Public Ministry examines the contracts for a total value of 22.9 million euros, of which it maintains that there is a large part, 9 to 10 million euros, that “does not correspond to the material delivered,” he said. The spokesperson of the Las Palmas Prosecutor’s Office told EFE, the prosecutor María Rosa Rubio.
Ramirez He emphasized to EFE that this does not appear in the prosecutor’s complaint, filed for six crimes against the Public Treasury (he gave the cover of the document as evidence), and also that the judge is investigating him only for fraud on taxes.
The order in which the Investigative Court number 5 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria admitted the complaint says in its final basis that the facts “from the beginning constitute crimes against the Public Treasury, without prejudice to the fact that in the formation of the investigation may be “serious evidence of the crime of money laundering, the crime of corruption and the crime of embezzlement”.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that these three additional crimes were also raised as a means of investigating the complaint, as the Treasury mentioned them in the complaint that gave rise to the case.
The spokesperson of the Public Ministry explained that the complaint that is already being processed by the Court number 5 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria revolves around the supplies contracted by the Canarian Health Service (SCS) to Damco Trading Services and Tanoja Services in 2020 and 2021.
Noel Jammal Fernandez He appears to be the sole administrator of the two companies under investigation, Damco Trading Services and Tanoja Services, and has a tax domicile in Madrid.
About Miguel Ángel Ramírez and Lucas Bravo de Laguna, president of the United for Gran Canaria party, the Prosecutor’s Office links them to two commercial entities where they believe funds received by Damco Trading Services and Tanoja Services were transferred. SA Christian Cerpa Espino It also relates to the final destination of the allegedly embezzled money.
The Prosecutor’s Office initiated these proceedings following several incidents reported by the Inspection of the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), when a discrepancy was observed between the payments made to the companies and the material provided.
“None of those who received the transferred sums (…) reasonably carried out any activity in which they obtained the large profits of which they were the beneficiaries,” said a statement from the Las Palmas Prosecutor’s Office.
Ramírez assured EFE that he did not sell any material in the Canarian Health Service, but its role is as an intermediary in the operation, as representative in the islands of Damco Trading Services and Tanoja Services, companies of Noel Jammal Fernandezin an operation where it subcontracted Bravo de Laguna and Cerpa.
The businessman from Gran Canaria insists that “all the goods ordered have been delivered” and he hopes the investigation will show that no illegal actions were committed. In fact, note that the contracts of Damco Trading Services and Tanoja Services were audited by the Court of Auditors.
According to the Public Sector Procurement Platform, SCS hired these companies to supply surgical masks and FPP2, nitrile gloves and swabs – swabs for use in the hospital where they took samples for covid tests -, besides others. other sanitary materials.
The files indicate that part of the money used to purchase this medical equipment came from European funds.
This prompted the Las Palmas Prosecutor’s Office to submit a query to the European Prosecutor’s Office to see if it wanted to handle the investigation, but it decided to continue the investigation in the Gran Canaria court that received the complaint for processing. , sources from the Public ministry.
This is the third criminal case opened for the purchases of medical supplies in the Canary Islands during the state of alarm: the first examines an alleged scam of 4 million euros in the supply of masks worth of SCS director, Conrado Domínguez, his work. , and the second examines four contracts for more than 12 million euros awarded to the company related to the so-called Koldo case, also for the purchase of face masks.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
