The Balearic Socialist Party (PSOE) has filed a lawsuit in court against the director general of Health of the PP Government in the islands, Javier Ureña, for prevarication, embezzlement, and influence peddling in relation to the management of a mask contract awarded in 2020 – during the term of current President of the Congress, Francina Armengol – to the company Soluciones de Gestión, recommended by Koldo García, senior advisor to the then Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos. The socialist complaint also targets the majority partner of Soluciones de Gestión and the company itself. The Balearic government awarded a contract to Soluciones de Gestión for the purchase of 1.4 million masks for 3.7 million euros in the early months of the pandemic. Health department officials sent several samples of these masks to the Ministry of Labor laboratory in Seville and found that they were of inferior quality to what was contracted, so they were withdrawn from distribution and stored in the following years.
Three years after realizing that the masks were of inferior quality, the Balearic government began the process of claiming 2.6 million euros from Soluciones de Gestión for the insufficient quality of the contracted masks. The delay in claiming and the handpicked awarding of a contract to the corrupt scheme recommended by Koldo García prompted the PP to call for Armengol’s resignation as President of the Congress of Deputies. Meanwhile, the new Balearic Government of the PP, led by Marga Prohens, continued with the process to claim damages but let it expire in January 2024 without resolving it. The Health Director General then initiated a nullity procedure for the contract, understanding that it was awarded without meeting the criteria of solvency and experience of the contracting company, which was not mandatory due to the emergency situation experienced by the country.
The judicial investigation of the so-called Koldo case raised doubts about an alleged favoritism of the new Balearic Government of the PP towards the corrupt scheme to not claim the 2.6 million euros back. The socialist complaint includes some documentary evidence from the investigation opened in the National Court for the alleged illegal payments to the advisor of Minister Ábalos, who facilitated the business of selling masks to various public administrations to the company Soluciones de Gestión. Among this evidence is the transcript of phone conversations involving the managers of Soluciones de Gestión stating in December 2023 that “Baleares,” referring to the PP Government, “would not continue with the claim for the masks.” A few days later, on January 12, 2024, the claim for the money expired without the Balearic administration doing anything to prevent it. The PSOE denounces the “deliberate neglect” of the then head of Health in the Balearic Islands, Javier Ureña, for not resolving the claim against Soluciones de Gestión for the refund of part of the money paid for the lower-quality masks.
The Balearic Government, by a resolution signed on March 21 of this year, abandoned the partial resolution procedure of the contract with the Koldo scheme company. At the same time, the Health Director General initiated a procedure to review the 2020 contract to declare its nullity. The reasons given for annulling the contract are that the awarded company lacked the economic and technical solvency to carry out the service. However, the contracting regulations during those months, the worst period of the pandemic for the number of daily deaths, allowed for handpicked contracts without verifying the economic solvency or experience of the companies. The socialist complaint points out that the PP Balearic Government did not mention these lack of requirements during the months of processing the contract resolution procedure and emphasizes that, at that time, it was not mandatory to verify the capacity and solvency of the awarded company, as stated in numerous reports from the Court of Auditors that audited public spending on health material by different administrations.
In summary, the situation in the Balearic Islands involves allegations of corruption and favoritism in the awarding of a mask contract to a company recommended by a government advisor, which led to financial losses and controversy. The delay in claiming damages and annulling the contract, as well as the alleged neglect by government officials, have sparked political tensions and calls for resignations. The legal proceedings and investigations surrounding the case shed light on potential irregularities in the administration of public contracts during the pandemic, highlighting the need for transparency and accountability in government dealings. As the case unfolds, it remains to be seen how it will impact the political landscape in the Balearic Islands and beyond.
