Trujillo: «The Government is pursuing the return of the money from the masks»

Trujillo: «The Government is pursuing the return of the money from the masks»

EFE

The Minister of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands,
Blaise Trujillohas assured this Friday that the Executive is pursuing the return of the four million that cost the masks that were never received at the
start of the pandemicwhich has led the Las Palmas Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office to investigate the Canary Health Service (SCS) for alleged crimes of prevarication and embezzlement of public funds.

Blas Trujillo, who has appeared at his own request to speak in a parliamentary committee about the investigation carried out by the Prosecutor's Office on both the vehicle sales company,
RR7 United SLfor alleged fraud, as well as the Ministry of Health, which continued contracting with her despite the fact that she did not provide the
million masks which had been paid in advance.

The counselor, in his speech, insisted that the Government is trying to recover these four million euros, which now with interest has increased to
4,800,000, therefore, he has remarked "it cannot remain in a situation of impunity".

The Prosecutor's Office tries to clarify whether the Administration
did not verify if the company RR7 United complied with the most elementary solvency requirements, if they investigated the object of it, since it was not linked to the health sector, and why did not inform the Public Ministry what happened with that contract for the purchase of a million masks.

Trujillo has insisted that the Prosecutor's Office has
“the maximum collaboration of the Ministry” and has criticized the complainant in this case for "shooting everything that moves"-

Specifically, the complainant informed the State Attorney General's Office, the Economic Crime Unit of the Police and the Court of Auditors of alleged irregularities detected in a total of
59 resolutions issued through the General Directorate of Economic Resources of the SCS between 2020 and 2021, for the acquisition of medical supplies for the fight against covid-19 for a total value of
€32 million.

According to the counselor
Health, "There is not a single moment where the administration has not acted to supply the masks" or to notify, up to ten times, the non-compliers of the embargo.

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He has clarified that this contract for the masks has been the only one that has had an incident, the rest have been executed correctly, for which he has asked the opposition not to use this case "to achieve big game hunting" because, it has continued,
"they won't hunt".

The counselor has recounted everything that happened and has framed this hiring at a time when there was a "total shortage" of
masks in Spain and the Canary Islands it competed with the rest of the world to obtain this type of scarce and necessary goods.

They were about
ffp3 masks for health personnel, Trujillo has specified, who has indicated that at the beginning of the pandemic, when this material was contracted, the community stock was below 6 weeks, when the Ministry had established 8 and, even, some days it fell at 1.23 weeks.

"There was an absolute need to supply masks for health personnel," he asserted, while adding that the company RR7 United SL sold them for four million when other firms
they asked for up to 7.5 million.

In his opinion, the price was adequate and the mask model was "top", so the supply contract was decided on May 25 and 5% was paid in August and the rest in October, although Health never received this material. sanitary.

Given the delay, Health notified the company to proceed with the supply and on January 15, r
received a letter from the intermediary in which he assured that he was not going to be able to carry out the supply under the agreed conditions.

For this reason, he continued, the contract resolution file was initiated in the face of what the company said that the masks had arrived in Gran Canaria but customs had destroyed them, alleging that they did not
they were approved and without Health being able to verify it.

In this context, the contract is terminated and the return of the four million euros plus interest is requested and the company replies that it has a product of the same level and that it could be used in
Record time.

However, after a week of waiting, it failed to comply again and, according to the Government, since then, there have been ten attempted seizures by the
Tax agency which have been unsuccessful.

CC deputy José Alberto Díaz-Estébanez He has criticized that the Government has paid the full amount of the masks before receiving them and that it did not ask for a guarantee from the company that, in his opinion, was suspicious because it was dedicated to automobiles.

The parliamentarian has reproached the counselor for having appeared hastily
"dragged by circumstances"because the deputies found out about the investigation of the Prosecutor's Office for a journalistic job and not for the administration.

"No matter how I paint it, this looks very bad," said the CC deputy, who recalled that this situation occurred when
Julius Perez assumed the direction of the Ministry of Health after the dismissal of Teresa Cruz.

Likewise, he has advanced that if the counselor does not give the appropriate explanations, CC is going to demand that legal and political measures be taken in this regard.

The PP deputy
Fernando Teach He has asked the counselor why a year and a half later there are neither the masks nor the 4 million euros and who certified the solvency of the mask company.

Enseñat has admitted that he does not understand why he waited to pay the other half when the masks were received and has said that he
screeched and this fact seems very serious to him, which has ended in an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office.

The deputy, who has accused Trujillo of
protect the president of the Canary IslandsÁngel Víctor Torres, with his speech before Torres goes to the plenary session of Parliament, has commented that the case of the masks reminds him of the Tindaya case, where public money also disappeared and the monument was not made.

The deputy of Nueva Canarias
Esther Gonzalez has regretted that "a stir beyond all logic" has been created, because in the Canary Islands "there are neither cousins ​​nor brothers like in Madrid".

González has highlighted that the
Canary Health Service made the right decision to try
protect healthcare personnel and has defended that the Government, instead of filing a complaint in court for fraud, should try to recover the 4 million euros it gave the company for the masks.

The deputy of Sí Podemos Canarias
Maria del Rio has branded the company
"scoundrel" and of carrying out a fraud taking advantage of the fear that existed among the population during the pandemic, when there were not enough masks or respirators.

“People who scam 4 million cannot go scot-free”, The deputy has asserted, who has requested the purification of responsibilities immediately, since it is public money.

The deputy of the Gomera Socialist Group
Jesus Ramos He has indicated that in the coming weeks the justice will determine if the legality was complied with throughout the procedure and those responsible will have to answer for an alleged fraud against the administration.

Ramos has valued that the counselor has done with his speech an exercise in transparency of the government because
"doesn't hide anything" At the same time, he has said that he is convinced that no criminal intent will be seen on the part of the administration.

The deputy of the Mixed group
Vidina Hawthorn He has opined that "one of the biggest mistakes in the management of the pandemic" was that the Government of Spain gave the communities and municipalities the purchase of sanitary material, which became a
"every man for himself".

Thorn has demanded
transparency to the Government of Spain, although he has said that he trusts the good work of the staff of the Ministry of Health.

The PSOE deputy
Mark Hernandez He has justified the purchase of the masks at a time when there was a shortage and the market was "strongly stressed" and has indicated that the administration put all the means to resolve a contract that
did not meet expectations.

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