Anti-Fraud Office receives complaint over public funds for America's Cup
Platform claims to have proof that €80m of public money was spent on sailing competition
The No to the America's Cup platform has filed a complaint with the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia, requesting it investigates the public funds allocated to the sailing competition.
The platform claims to have proof that €80 million of public funds were spent on the event, in addition to the tax benefits granted to participating teams.
The Anti-Fraud Office is an institution that aims to prevent and investigate possible cases of fraudulent use or allocation of public funds.
The complaint comes after the publishing of a report by media outlet La Directa which exposed alleged manipulation of attendance figures by the event's organizers.
The organizers are accused of inflating spectator numbers to secure the designation of Exceptional Event of Public Interest (EEIP), a status crucial for receiving public funding and tax benefits.
The No to the America’s Cup platform, which includes 140 organizations, is demanding a "clean sweep" and the release of the "real figures" of the event.
Spokespersons for the platform told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that they have evidence of the alleged manipulation of figures presented to local authorities, which were used to justify the event's projected impact on the city.
According to their information, the figures presented were based on forecasts from previous editions of the event, rather than final audited figures.
They also point out that many of the contracts and clauses between the organizers and public administrations are marked "confidential," contributing to the "opacity” of how much public money was spent on the America’s Cup being hosted in Barcelona.
The platform calls for transparency in the public contracts signed with the aim of determining whether there has been any misappropriation of public funds.
The Anti-Fraud Office will now decide whether to accept the complaint and open and investigation, reject it, or forward it to the public prosecutor or another competent authority.
In addition to the complaint filed with the Anti-Fraud Office, the platform is meeting with political parties to launch an investigation through the Public Audit Office.
So far, the platform has met with far-left CUP, left-wing Comuns, the Socialists, and pro-independence Esquerra. According to the platform, all parties have expressed an interest in activating the Public Audit Office.
If evidence of embezzlement is found, the matter would be referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office for possible prosecution.
The platform has called for a protest against the event on Sunday at noon in Plaça de Correus, by the city's port.