The Instruction Court number 2 of Tarragona will maintain the investigation of the so-called Montoro case. Magistrate Rubén Rus has refused to send the case to the courts of Madrid and has ratified Tarragona's jurisdiction to continue investigating proceedings that affect the former Minister of Finance Cristóbal Montoro and about twenty investigated individuals.
The judge has dismissed the petition presented by several defenses, which claimed the transfer of the procedure to Madrid, city where the firm Equipo Económico, founded by Montoro, is based. In his resolution, the instructor maintains that the allegedly criminal acts under investigation maintain a direct link with Tarragona, both due to the origin of some contracts as well as for payments made from companies located in the demarcation.
Tarragona maintains the instruction
The order expressly states that from Tarragona Equipo Económico is contracted and from Tarragona a payment is made to Equipo Económico. It also adds an alleged economic impact on Tarragona's coffers derived from the reforms that are under suspicion.
The case seeks to clarify whether, during Montoro's time at the head of the Ministerio de Hacienda, alleged legislative modifications favorable to gas companies and other sectors were promoted in exchange for millionaire payments to the firm Equipo Económico.
The discovery of the first indications
One of the central arguments of the magistrate to keep the case in Tarragona is the so-called casual finding. That finding comes from emails intercepted at the company Messer Ibérica Gasses, located in the province, where the first indications appeared about a supposed strategy to obtain tax reductions through the hiring of the firm linked to the former minister.
Among the seized documentation there is an email that the court considers especially revealing. In it, it was stated that the most direct way, as always, is to pay this economic team that has direct contact with the Minister of Finance Cristóbal Montoro.
The instructor invokes Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Law to defend his jurisdiction. His reasoning is that, if there is no certainty about the exact place of commission of the crime, the court where the first material evidence appeared must assume the matter. Along these lines, he underlines that it is in Tarragona where the first indications of crime appear.
Rejection to the objections of the defenses
Rubén Rus also denies having incurred in any irregularity upon assuming the instruction. In the resolution, he denies having acted for a particular interest in preserving the procedure and maintains that action has been taken in compliance with the applicable legal distribution rules.
For its part, Equipo Económico has denied irregularities and has filed appeals before the Audiencia Provincial de Tarragona after the lifting of the secrecy of the summary proceedings in July 2025. Among its objections are the challenge to the seven years of investigation under secrecy, the request for the transfer of the case to Madrid and the request for annulment of the finding that gave rise to the inquiries. For the moment, the Tarragona court maintains control of an investigation that remains open.