The Prosecutor's Office investigates whether Colau awarded grants to related entities irregularly

The mayoress of Barcelona, ​​Ada Colau, in a plenary session of the Barcelona City Council in February.Carles Ribas

The Barcelona Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation after a complaint filed against the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Ada Colau, for awarding subsidies irregularly to related entities.

The complaint of the Catalan Lawyers association for the Constitution considers that Colau has granted public aid to groups with which he collaborated or had a relationship in his time as an activist, before making the leap to municipal politics.

The opening of investigation proceedings is only the first step.

The Prosecutor's Office must now decide what steps to take - collect reports from the Barcelona City Council, summon those responsible for awarding subsidies to declare - and, when the time comes, will file a complaint or complaint or, if there is no evidence of a crime, will archive the case .

The complaint is directed against Colau, but also against the former councilor of Ciutat Vella Gala Pin;

former councilor Laia Ortiz;

the municipal advisor for Housing Vanesa Valiño;

the deputy mayor Laura Pérez and the director of the DESC Observatory, Irene Escorihuela.

The platform considers them responsible for the crimes of prevarication, fraud in hiring, embezzlement of public funds and influence peddling.

The complaint points to the "repeated and allegedly unjustified" granting, by the Barcelona City Council, of subsidies to the DESC Observatory (an association that fights for civil rights such as housing or education), to the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages ( PAH, of which Ada Colau was a member) and other entities such as the Alliance against Energy Poverty (APE) and Engineers without Borders (ESF).

The entity emphasizes that Colau and the other denounced have maintained "close personal and professional ties" with these entities before occupying their public positions.

And he cites as an example the fact that the mayor - together with the spokesman for the Commons in Congress, Jaume Asens, or the member of the congressional board Gerardo Pisarello - have collaborated in the DESC Observatory, which has received 1.2 million per part of the consistory.

The reorientation of public aid after the arrival of Colau to power was already highlighted by EL PAÍS in 2018. Subsidies and commissions -some via minor contracts, that is without public competition- to related cooperatives dedicated to the social economy, housing and citizen participation skyrocketed.

Colau has distanced himself this Tuesday from any irregular practice and has ensured that it only grants subsidies "in accordance with regulations and with favorable intervention reports."

In an interview on Rac1, the mayor said that she felt "very calm" because "there is no case" and has shown herself willing to collaborate with the prosecution's investigation.

"We have absolutely nothing to hide."

Colau criticized that Catalan Lawyers by the Constitution is an “entity that has been signified by very political complaints” and of “not strictly legal character”.