Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena has ended the investigation into Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Lluís Puig, closing the case against the former Catalan president and two former ministers after nine years of proceedings. He has set aside their prosecution for embezzlement and referred the file to the court’s Criminal Chamber, which will decide whether to apply the amnesty and formally dismiss the case.
Llarena’s decision follows a Constitutional Court ruling on October 6 that found the Supreme Court should have applied the amnesty law in 2024 to former Catalan government officials prosecuted or convicted of embezzlement. Llarena lifted the arrest warrants against Puigdemont, Comín and Puig that same day, but postponed closing the case while he considered the ruling and outstanding appeals.
In an order issued on Tuesday, Llarena said evidence of the three men’s alleged involvement remained, as did the grounds for their prosecution in 2018. They were accused of using their positions in the Catalan government to organise and finance the October 1, 2017 referendum with public funds, despite court prohibitions. However, he said the Constitutional Court’s ruling meant their prosecution could not stand. He stressed that this was because the law granted amnesty for the specific conduct under investigation, not because embezzlement or disobedience had been decriminalised or because the evidence had disappeared.
The Criminal Chamber must now decide whether to apply the amnesty and close the proceedings. The chamber granted amnesty on October 20 to former Catalan deputy leader Oriol Junqueras and former ministers Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa and Jordi Turull.
Comín and Puig returned to Spain after their arrest warrants were lifted. Puigdemont has remained abroad, and he and his party have not said when he will return, although they have indicated it would be after the November 29 general election.
Sources: El País Portada.