VALENCIA
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The administrator of Canal Maestrat and Kriol, Juan Adell Bover, two of the audiovisual production companies investigated by an alleged subsidy fraud and false documentationadmitted this Wednesday before the judge that both companies have been the subject of seven files for reimbursement of the aid granted, in this case, by the Department of Education of the Generalitat Valenciana for the promotion of Valencian.
In the case, which stems from a PP complaint, the general director of Language Policy is also being investigated, Ruben TrenzanoY Francis Puigbrother of the president of the Generalitat Ximo Puig, as administrator of Comunicacions dels Ports and Mas Mut Produccions.
During the appearance of nearly three hours, to which he has had access ABCAdell Bover explained to the head of the Investigating Court number 4 of Valencia that Education asked him to return seven grants -six granted to Canal Maestrat (in bankruptcy proceedings) and one to Kriol- from different years.
Precisely, the justification of the public money that all these companies received from the Valencian, Catalan and Aragonese governments between 2015 and 2018 is investigated.
“A control plan was carried out for us, we were denied access to the file, we had to make the allegations blindly and, from there, seven subsidy reimbursement procedures were opened for us,” the businessman pointed out to questions from the spokesperson of the Public Ministry, because he did not want to respond to those of the popular accusation exercised by the PP.
«As we do not agree neither in the forms nor in the substance, is currently in the Contentious-Administrative», added Adell Bover, while affirming that he has not had similar problems with the Catalan Generalitat. In that sense, the case is pending that both administrations encrypt in respective audits the exact amount that would have been defrauded to know if the criminal threshold of 120.00 euros.
The prosecutor questioned Adell Bover about the alleged irregularities that the Economic Crimes Unit of the Judicial Police reveals in a report provided to the case, in which the agents warn that the same invoices are used to justify aid in the Valencian Community and in Catalonia.
“We present a spending proposal and it is the Administration that charges. I don’t know at any time what they are going to give or what they won’t, in fact, I don’t even know the expenses that they have considered», pointed out the investigator, along the same lines as what was declared by Francis Puig two days before. Both highlighted in court that the Generalitat Valenciana does not report the percentage of each expense that it has allocated to justify the subsidy, something that the Catalan government does.
In addition, Adell Bover defended that his relationship with Francis Puig is strictly “commercial” and “intensified” in 2017, for being the contact person with the production companies he manages and to whom he buys or sells content “daily”, something very common , according to their testimony, to cover the different areas in which they have a presence -Castellón and Teruel- lowering costs, although they have never shared workers.
“I neither have nor have I ever had any type of corporate relationship” with Francis Puig, he stressed. She also denied having, through him, any kind of information about the grants before the calls went out. In this sense, he focused on the fact that of the four years investigated, the invoices that were provided to justify expenses related to Puig’s production companies they only accounted for 16.4% of the total. 0.04% if appealed reimbursement processes are taken into account.
However, the prosecutor requested that he provide all the work – and the defense agreed to do so – that was billed under the name “Audiovisual production” – content that, according to Adell Bover, was not paid for because it was compensated with others between merchants – to have proof that they really exist.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism