Justice suspends Andorra investigation into ‘Operation Catalonia’ affecting Mariano Rajoy

The Supreme Court of Madrid has decided to suspend as a precaution the processing of a letter of request by which the Andorran authorities facilitated the investigation against former President Mariano Rajoy and former ministers Jorge Fernández Díaz and Cristóbal Montoro, known as “Operation Catalonia”. , the alleged use of police and illegal methods to obtain banking information from the Pujol family in Andorra.

In separate rulings, the judges of the sixth section of the Litigation-Administrative Chamber of the TSJ in Madrid temporarily paralyzed the execution of the request for judicial assistance, believing that its processing “would cause damage that is difficult or impossible to repair.” Complainants, they also claimed that “diplomatic protection” was playing in their favor. In this sense, they confirm that the suspension “does not cause any harm to the administration at this time” because the origin of the measure or not “continues to be vented in the criminal courts.” The judges make this decision against the criteria of the Prosecutor’s Office and the State Prosecutor’s Office, which requested the rejection of this preventive suspension.

A magistrate from Andorra is investigating this alleged illegal operation and is asking for the cooperation of the Spanish authorities in bringing the case against the people living in Spain, including the former president of the government and the former minister of the interior. Various appellate and court decisions have slowed and renewed this panel of judges until this latest decision, which once again leaves the process on hold. On November 2, the same court suspended the sending of information.

In that case, investigators have made allegations of disparate treatment in the case of Celestino Barroso, the chief inspector of the national police, who was stationed at the Spanish embassy in Andorra from 2014 to 2017, and who allegedly said the resolution had “immunity or diplomatic protection” over the alleged illegal hacking of former president Jordi Pujol’s family bank data. regarding the search.