Prosecutors file appeal in Gürtel case dismissal

Anti-corruption prosecutors filed an appeal on Wednesday against a ruling issued last week by a Madrid regional High Court judge dropping the Gürtel corruption investigation against former Popular Party treasurer Luis Bárcenas.

In its argument in support for a reconsideration to reopen the case, prosecutors said that elements of evidence for crimes committed by Bárcenas are "multiple and strong."

In a surprise move, Judge Antonio Pedreira shelved the inquiry against Bárcenas in the mammoth kickbacks-for-contracts case on September 1. Bárcenas, a former PP senator, could have faced bribery and tax evasion charges for allegedly receiving money from the Gürtel network of corrupt businessmen.

Prosecutors say they are puzzled by the fact that there hasn't been any "exceptional circumstance" that justifies dismissing the case before the investigatory stage was completed. They argue that there are allegations still pending against Bárcenas, "which were accepted by the same judge and have not yet been completed."

"No conclusions"

"The relevance and necessity of these procedures to establish the facts that were attributed to Luis Bárcenas Gutiérrez should have been evaluated by the same judge. However, without reaching any conclusions on those allegations [...] he agreed to dismiss the case," the prosecutors wrote in their brief.

Bárcenas' lawyers and the PP had both asked in separate motions for a case dismissal in June.

In his ruling, Pedreira decided that the statute of limitations had run out on the tax evasion charges Bárcenas was facing for the years 2002 and 2003. The judge also said that Bárcenas could not be charged with bribery under the law because, as party treasurer, he was not an elected official.

The court credited Bárcenas for trying to swing the PP away from Gürtel's alleged leader Francisco Correa when he found out about the now-jailed businessman's dealings with some party members.

Bárcenas was the highest PP official facing charges related to the Gürtel scheme. He stepped down as treasurer in April 2010, days before also giving up his Senate seat.

Last week, Pedreira also dropped the case built against Jesús Merino, a former Popular Party (PP) congressman accused of taking money from the corrupt ring.