Pre-trial prison for corruption ringleaders

The ringleaders of the ‘Palau’ corruption scandal will have to wait for the final judgement of their case in jail. A Barcelona courtroom ruled on Monday “immediate incarceration” for Fèlix Millet and Jordi Montull as a precautionary measure. The public prosecutor had asked for this measure on the grounds that there is a “very high risk” that both of them might flee while waiting for the Spanish Supreme Court to decide on their appeals. Meanwhile, the prosecution also asked for a foreign travel ban on Montull’s daughter, Gemma, and Daniel Osàcar, who were also both sentenced in the same case, but drew short of demanding they be detained.

What is the ‘Palau’ case?

On January 15, the Barcelona court sentenced Fèlix Millet and Jordi Montull to nine years and eight months and to seven and a half years in prison, respectively. Both men were in charge of the Palau de la Música concert hall for decades, and they confessed to diverting funds from the cultural venue into their own bank accounts. The court found Millet and Montull guilty of stealing 23 million euros from the institution. Montull’s daughter, Gemma, was also charged and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

The case also involved the CDC political party, with former treasurer Daniel Osàcar sentenced to four years and five months in jail. The party, the predecessor of the pro-independence PDeCAT party, was accused of rigging public tenders in exchange for commission to illegally finance itself, with the money being transferred through false concert hall donations.