The comptroller of the Reus City Council stated this Tuesday the 26th in the Tarragona Court that the architect Jorge Batesteza was paid simultaneously by Innova and the UTE Euroconsult for the same work on projects linked to the Sant Joan de Reus Hospital. In his statement, he placed Batesteza in minutes as both an advisor to the municipal holding company and project manager for the temporary union of companies.
The first session of the Innova case trial also left another anomaly at the center of the proceedings. The same comptroller stated that the hiring of the former director of CatSalut, Carles Manté, through CCM Estratègies did not comply with the Public Sector Contracts Law, despite the fact that the invoices for his services amounted to 720,120.82 euros and, for the most part, were not accompanied by reports justifying the work.
The comptroller placed Batesteza in two roles at once
During his appearance, the official explained that he detected a dual role for Batesteza in the documentation reviewed. In some hospital minutes, he appeared as an advisor to Innova, and in others, as a project manager for the UTE Euroconsult.
"We found hospital minutes in which Batesteza participated, the minutes were not signed, at times he appeared as an advisor to Innova and at others as a project manager hired by the UTE, the dual role made no sense" - Comptroller of the Reus City Council
The comptroller added that these contracts did not go through the board of directors. In his statement, he attributed the decision to Josep Prat and emphasized that there was no municipal mandate to hire either Manté or Batesteza.
Furthermore, he recalled that he issued three internal control reports between May 2008 and 2011. These reports came after a period without controls since 2005 due to a lack of resources and, as he stated, were only taken into account after the change of government in 2011.
Manté's invoices totaled 720,120.82 euros, and many lacked supporting documentation
The other part of the statement focused on the work attributed to Carles Manté through CCM Estratègies. The comptroller stated that the contract required monthly reports, but described a lack of content in the documentation provided.
"The difficulty is that the same contract provided for monthly reports, there was a lack of content, one of the contracts was for 260,000 euros, earning 60 euros per hour for 1,000 hours a year" - Comptroller of the Reus City Council
Along the same lines, he explained that the invoices arrived every month for four years and that there were few reports on the work. Part of this review connects with the Innova case and with other cases already judged or still pending regarding the management of the municipal holding company of Reus.
The last six invoices, for amounts between 80,000 and 90,000 euros, were not paid and were returned by Innova. The comptroller emphasized that CCM Estratègies did not claim these amounts, a reaction that he said surprised him.
The Court excluded conversations with the lawyer and postponed the rest of the testimonies
At the start of the hearing, the Court of Tarragona partially granted a request from Manté's defense. The court excluded from the case all communications between the accused and his lawyer that the Civil Guard had intercepted during a search, understanding that they were protected by client-attorney confidentiality.
It was also set that the accused will testify at the end of the trial. Tuesday's session had to be suspended due to the indisposition of a member of the court, and the rest of the testimonies were postponed to Wednesday.
The appearance of the former Minister of Health Marina Geli and the secretary of the Reus City Council was scheduled for that day.