Judge García Castellón opens a case against Juan Carlos Monedero for money laundering and falsehood

Manuel García-Castellón, investigating judge of the National Court, has decided to investigate Juan Carlos Monedero, founder of Podemos, for money laundering and forgery for a transfer of 425,000 euros that the 59-year-old political scientist charged in 2013 for advising to various Latin American governments through the company Caja de Resistencia Motiva 2 Producciones SL.

The magistrate opens the case just a month after filing the investigation into the alleged irregular financing of Podemos, closed in 2016 and reopened in 2021 following the statements of Hugo Armando Carvajal,

, head of Venezuelan counterintelligence until 2014. He pointed to Juan Carlos Monedero as a recipient of money from Chavista governments.

The Criminal Chamber of the same court ordered García Castellón, who has spent years with open and closed cases against Podemos, to end the general case, understanding that it was prospective.

The judge agrees to open a case to investigate Monedero “in relation to some transfers between his company, Caja de Resistencia Motiva 2 Producciones SL, with the company VIU Europa and Banco del Alba for the preparation of an advisory report on the financial spheres of the ALBA countries.

The co-founder of Podemos, in fact, collected a total of 425,150 euros in 2013 from the governments of Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ecuador for advisory work to implement a common currency and develop the financial unit in Latin America.

The leader, who is a professor of Political Science at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), billed his services as a consultant through the company Caja de Resistencia Motiva 2 Producciones SL, which lacks employees and structure.

The works were provided three years before billing.

More information

Monedero charged 425,000 euros for advising Venezuela and its partners

García Castellón explains that, although the Criminal Chamber had ordered him to file the investigation for illegal financing of Podemos, that does not prevent him from opening any particular case derived from the general one by deduction of testimony.

The Criminal Chamber ordered the closure considering that it was not investigating specific facts, but that the investigation was "prospective", that is, a general examination in search of something criminal.

In this sense, García Castellón's order explains that from the analysis of the documentation provided by the UDEF there are suspicions that some of the documents provided by VIU Europa SL, following a police request, "could present obvious inaccuracies between the date of creation of the file and the date that appears on the same document”.

The order explains that the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the police has reflected in its reports that the Banco del Alba paid 425,000 euros to the Caja de Resistencia Motiva 2, owned by Monedero, for the “

″.

In the judge's opinion, there was a "triangular movement" that, he writes, "has characteristic features of operations linked to money laundering", which allows the inference of the commission of economic crimes and falsehoods.

In addition, it takes into account the statements of Pollo, pending extradition to the United States, in which he said that the VIU Europa company was used "to cover up irregular operations linked to Monedero."

He also claims that he has a protected witness.

The firm Caja de Resistencia Motiva 2 Producciones SL, where Monedero appears as the sole administrator, was created in October 2013 and its purpose is to carry out market studies and surveys.

The politician also used the company to enter the benefits of his book

(Seix Barral, 2013).

The benefits of the advisory services were used to pay for the political talk

, which is broadcast on a set located in the digital newspaper

and where eight professionals “collaborate”, according to the leader of Podemos.