cdc

"If there has been any misuse of public funds, we must get to the bottom of it," says Aragonès

Court says signs of criminal organization and bribery in '3% case'

The former president of the Palau de la Música is sentenced to 9 years and 8 months for embezzling 23 million euros

Judge sees evidence that party donations by senior officials came from black money from businesses seeking public works contracts

Four arrested were released with charges as part of investigation into allegations that illegal subsidies were given to organizations close to main political party

Party accused of influence peddling, bribery and money laundering in so-called ‘3% Case’

Unionist Ciutadans says it is a move to hide "corruption," while pro-independence parties take sides

While former leader of convicted CDC party Artur Mas denies irregularities, private prosecution is “rather satisfied” with the judge’s decision

Court orders CDC party to repay 6.6 million euros after it is found guilty of illegal funding in sentence involving former officials of the Palau de la Música concert hall

All the parties in the Catalan chamber except from governing cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ urged former Catalan President, Artur Mas, to appear before the Parliament over CDC irregular funding. He will have to do so after the main figures accused in the ‘Palau Case’ assured that former CDC, now renamed as the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT), received commissions from Ferrovial construction company in exchange for public contracts and with the intermediation of ‘Palau de la Música’. Indeed, Mas was head of CDC at the time when the alleged corruption took place. Pro-independence radical left CUP consider it “a fiction” to separate CDC from PDeCat and the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) have called for Mas to quit his political career if the accusations over CDC irregular funding prove to be true.

After 8 years of investigation, the main names behind the so-called ‘Palau case’ will testify before the court this Wednesday. The judge accuses former governing party ‘Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya’ (CDC), which ruled in Catalonia in coalition with Christian Democrat Unió for more than 20 years, of illicitly receiving €5.1 million from the construction company Ferrovial through donations made to Barcelona’s Palau de la Música concert hall. The judge, Josep Maria Pijuan, believes the money was allegedly given in exchange for the allocation of public work contracts. Fèlix Millet and Jordi Montull, the main managers of Palau de la Música at that time, have been the main focus of attention during the investigation, since there was evidence that they might have stolen €26 million from the cultural organisation for their personal benefit. CDC, now renamed as PDeCAT have repeatedly claimed that the accusations “have not been proven” and former Catalan President, Artur Mas, insisted he believed in the word given by the party former treasurer, Daniel Osàcar, who has been indicted by the judge.

The Catalan Democratic Party (PDC), the new political force which has emerged after former governing liberal Convergència decided to reinvent itself, won’t have its own parliamentary group in the Spanish Senate. This is the first time that the former Convergència party won’t have its own group in the High Chamber since democracy was restored in Spain, in 1977. The four members in the Senate’s Bureau from the Conservative People’s Party (PP) voted against the PDC’s proposal to add two senators from left-wing pro-independence ERC to their four, two from the Canarian Coalition (CC) and two from Basque nationalists Bildu, as the regulation foresees a minimum of 10 senators in order to have their own group. The Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) abstained from the vote and the other member in the Senate’s Bureau, representing the Basque Nationalist Party (PNB) voted in favour. 

The Spanish Ministry for Home Affairs warned this Thursday that it is highly probable that the new ‘Catalan Democratic Party’, the name chosen for the reinvented liberal ‘Convergència’ (CDC), won’t be registered in the party register. Thus, the Ministry have the same view as that of ‘Democràtes de Catalunya’, the party which split from former CDC partners Christian Democrats ‘Unió’ who consider the name ‘Catalan Democratic Party’ too similar to their own. The Ministry pointed out that there was a previous attempt to register a party with a similar name in 2015 and that it was rejected for the same reasons. Therefore, “the precedent shows that this name can’t be registered”, the Ministry stated.