Spain's Court of Auditors to grant amnesty to 35 former Catalan officials linked to 2017 referendum
The Tribunal de Cuentas has ruled to apply the amnesty law to 35 former Generalitat officials charged over spending tied to the illegal October 1, 2017 referendum and the external promotion of the independence movement.
The Tribunal de Cuentas announced it will apply the amnesty law to the 35 former high-ranking members of the Generalitat who were prosecuted for alleged diversion of public funds used to organise the October 1, 2017 referendum and to fund international lobbying for Catalan independence between 2011 and 2017. The move aligns with a July judgment from the Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea that EU law does not impede the Spanish amnesty and that the examined actions did not affect EU financial interests.
While the court opened a new procedural step to let parties comment on possible use of EU funds—a step criticised by the chief prosecutor Manuel Martín-Granizo as unnecessary—the resolution is expected within weeks. The Catalan government and President Salvador Illa have called for an urgent closure of the case, and ERC hailed the development as a long-awaited victory, whereas Sociedad Civil Catalana urged a prior audit of the 14 contested budget lines totaling 4.97 million euros.
