A Spanish court has dismissed allegations of criminal wrongdoing stemming from emergency contracts awarded by the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively closing a politically charged inquiry. The ruling, issued Thursday by Judge José Antonio Gómez, centers on complaints filed by the Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and podemos regarding approximately €242 million in contracts issued beginning in 2024.While acknowledging some regulatory shortcomings, the court found no evidence of prevarication-abuse of power for personal gain-and emphasized the importance of protecting citizens from unwarranted legal scrutiny, referencing Article 24 of the Spanish Constitution[[2]].
A Spanish court has dismissed complaints filed by the Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and Podemos alleging irregularities in emergency contracts awarded by the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the handling of the contracts, a decision that concludes a probe into allegations of mismanagement of public funds.
Judge José Antonio Gómez issued the ruling on Thursday, determining that while some “specific aspects” of the contracts did not fully comply with regulations, they did not constitute prevarication – abuse of power for personal gain. The judge stated that pursuing a detailed examination of each contract was unwarranted “given the lack of elements or principles of evidence” supporting the claims of criminal activity.
According to the ruling, extending the investigation further would violate constitutional rights by subjecting citizens to scrutiny without a legitimate basis. The court emphasized the importance of protecting individuals from unwarranted investigations, citing Article 24 of the Spanish Constitution.
Health Service Procedures Deemed “Reasonable”
The judge found that the SAS’s procedures were “reasonable” in relation to applicable laws, despite identifying some areas where regulations were not fully followed. However, these shortcomings were not widespread and were considered minor enough to warrant only a warning and recommendations for improvement.
The court acknowledged the Administration’s “permanent control” system, which helped identify potential irregularities and prompted the initial complaints. However, it stressed that there was “no indication” that the shift from prior oversight to permanent monitoring was intended to undermine controls, stating it actually strengthened them.
“It should not be forgotten that emergency contracting does not strictly require processing administrative procedures, and allows for free contracting,” the judge wrote. This factor, he added, “especially limited the effectiveness of prior control, or at least it could have been thought so.”
The ruling clarifies that prevarication isn’t simply the result of numerous irregularities. “The sum of irregular resolutions does not turn into prevarication what, considered in isolation, is merely an irregularity. It is not a quantitative, but a qualitative problem.”
Ultimately, the judge concluded that a review of the documentation revealed “mere reorganization,” despite the difficulties encountered during the investigation.
Complaints Focused on Alleged Contract “Fragmentation”
The initial complaint was filed by the PSOE in 2024, questioning the continuation of emergency contracts totaling 242 million euros even after the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided.
The complaints, later joined by Podemos, targeted the current SAS director, Valle García, and her predecessors, Miguel Ángel Guzmán and Diego Vargas, accusing them of circumventing legal controls on health service contracts.
This week, Catalina García, the current Andalusian Regional Minister for Environmental Sustainability, testified as a witness. She previously served as the Vice-Minister of Health during the period when the contract control criteria were modified at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
During her testimony, García attributed the decision to modify the controls to technical staff. However, those same staff members had previously indicated to investigators in November that political leaders were responsible for the change.
