Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• Eight people arrested, including the official responsible for issuing the technical reports that allegedly favored companies that applied for road construction contracts in the region, as well as the administrators of four contracting companies

• Searches have been carried out in the office of the main suspect in the Department of Public Works of the Government of Cantabria, in the headquarters of the contractors and in the private homes of the members of the plot

• During the search of the home of the official under investigation, 530,000 euros were discovered in a safe hidden in a wall and a money-counting machine.

February 24, 2023 .- The Tax Agency and the National Police, within the framework of a joint operation, have dismantled a fraud scheme in the contracting of public works in Cantabria. Eight people have been arrested as part of the operation, including the official responsible for issuing the technical reports that allegedly favoured companies that applied for road contracts in the region. The directors of four companies awarded these contracts have also been arrested.

The arrests were accompanied by searches in the office of the official in the Department of Public Works of the Government of Cantabria, in the headquarters of the contracting companies and in the private homes of the members of the plot. The detainees are charged with bribery, fraud in contracting and money laundering.

The investigation began in early 2022, when officials from the Special Delegation of the Tax Agency in Cantabria learned of the possible involvement of a senior official of the Government of Cantabria in the manipulation of public works contract awards in the region.

By issuing technical reports and participating in the contracting committees, this person is said to have managed to secure contracts for a number of companies. In turn, the AEAT investigators detected signs of financial enrichment of the official's closest family.

Following the initial actions, a joint team was formed with the National Police UDEF and the proceedings were brought to court, which from that moment on was directed by the Court of Instruction number 5 of Santander.

Unjustified increase in assets

The Customs Surveillance Operational Unit of the Tax Agency in Cantabria was able to determine that the official's family group had experienced a significant increase in unjustified assets during the period from 2013 to 2022, which can be estimated at several million euros.

The senior official was involved in the preparation of bids for specific bidders, allegedly issuing an arbitrary assessment of the subjective criteria for evaluating bids and excluding other potential bidders. To do so, it would modify prices, negotiate the terms of tenders with contracting companies and make use of privileged information.

Vehicles and gifts paid for by the successful bidders

According to the investigations carried out, the main suspect in the plot, together with his family, would have designed a strategy to introduce into the legal money circuit the significant amounts he received, presumably, in the form of illegal commissions. In addition, it has been found that the aforementioned family environment enjoyed various gifts and a vehicle whose rental contract was paid for by one of the companies that was awarded public works contracts in whose technical reports the suspect directly participated.

Registrations and account blocking

The exploitation phase of the operation was completed last Wednesday with the arrest of all those under investigation, while raids and searches were carried out at the home of the main suspect, the office where he works at the Department of Public Works of the Government of Cantabria, the registered offices of the companies awarded the contracts whose collusion has been revealed throughout the investigation and the corresponding private addresses of the directors of these companies, all of them in Cantabria.

During the search of the home of the official under investigation, 530,000 euros were found in a safe hidden in a wall and a money-counting machine.

A large amount of documentation, both in paper and electronic format, was also seized during the searches, which will allow further progress in the investigation. Bank accounts and financial assets worth several million euros, as well as other assets that may have been at the disposal of those under investigation, have also been frozen. The operation is still ongoing and further action is not ruled out.