Catalan government auditor under investigation for hiding referendum funding

A court in Barcelona is investigating the auditor responsible for monitoring spending from the Catalan government in the run-up to last October’s referendum on independence, which was deemed illegal by Spain.

The judge believes it is “illogical" to posit that no public money was allocated to pay for the vote, and accuses auditor Rosa Vidal of allegedly obstructing the investigation into misuse of public funds against former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and his ministers.  

Vidal faces accusations of disobedience, misuse of public funds, and falsifying documents, following several reports from the Spanish government tax ministry and the Guardia Civil police.

The referendum went ahead on October 1 despite Spain’s control of Catalan finances, with more than 2.2 million people casting their ballots (less than 50% of the electorate). The police intervention to close down polling stations left more than a thousand injured, according to Catalan government figures.