Moreno claims he “does not know the reason” for the arrest of the head of the Almería Provincial Council in the “mask case”

The president of the Andalusian Junta and the Progressive Party, Juanma Moreno, wanted to clarify that he had “no information” after learning that the Civil Guard arrested on Tuesday the president of the Almería Provincial Council, Javier Aureliano García, as well as the vice president of the institution, Fernando Jiménez, and the mayor of Vines, Rodrigo Sánchez (PP), as part of an investigation into corruption in the procurement process. Of masks launched in 2021.

Moreno said, in statements to the media after his intervention at a forum organized by Europa Press in Seville: “Until this time in the morning, I do not have any information other than what the various information agencies sent me via telegrams, and that there is an arrest and that the delegation is also being registered.”

The president added: “I do not know exactly what the reason, instructions and motives are behind this situation,” noting that they will be “very attentive throughout the day to obtain as much comprehensive information as possible.” Afterwards, he noted that the colleagues from Almería who had contacted them also had “no idea” what was happening.

The arrests, which did not come as a surprise in Almería because it has long been suspected that new investigations could once again tighten the siege on the Provincial Council, once again highlighted what happened during the worst months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. According to the judicial investigation ongoing since 2021, senior officials of the Almería Provincial Council are involved in creating a network for profiteering through the awarding of public contracts.

On June 15, 2021, the UCO already arrested the third vice president of the county council and head of urban planning, Oscar Leria. This was the first case related to the sale of medical supplies – in addition to masks there were protective clothing and gloves – in the epidemic that began in Spain. Ten more people were then arrested, many with family ties to Liria. Twenty people are under investigation in the Almería Metropolitan Court.

However, the Andalusian president claimed that he had no knowledge of the “judicial instructions,” adding that “I have nothing to contribute now.” Moreno concluded in response to the journalists’ question: “We will wait to see what they will tell us throughout the day, and I hope that they will provide us with information.”

“More agenda in the courts than in the offices.”

For her part, Deputy Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party and spokeswoman for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, María Márquez, said early Tuesday that “between Almería and Seville,” the People’s Party headed by Juanma Moreno, who is also president of the Council, “has more of an agenda in the courts than in the offices.” On his account on the social network