Government winds up case on suspect CiU graft report

Interior Minister Jorge Fernández on Tuesday closed a probe into a dubious draft police document that surfaced during the campaign for regional elections in November that accused leading members of the ruling Catalan CiU center-right nationalist bloc of corruption.

Fernández told Congress that the some 300 members of the UDEF financial crimes squad were questioned individually on the authorship of the document published on November 16 by daily El Mundo but all of them denied having taken part in drawing it up or knowledge of its official existence.

The minister said his department was unable to identify the origin of the report, which he also said contained inaccurate statements. Popular Party officials made reference to the report in the campaign.

The draft report "does not correspond to any official document" drawn up by the UDEF, Fernández said.

The phantom report accused CiU leader and Catalan premier Artur Mas and other top members of the group of having, among other things, secret bank accounts in Switzerland. During the campaign for the November 25 elections in Catalonia, Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro said "those who have Swiss bank accounts" should appear before parliament to explain them.

The draft report "does not correspond to any official document" drawn up by the UDEF, Fernández said.

The phantom report accused CiU leader and Catalan premier Artur Mas and other top members of the group of having, among other things, secret bank accounts in Switzerland. During the campaign for the November 25 elections in Catalonia, Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro said "those who have Swiss bank accounts" should appear before parliament to explain them.