Judge Javier Santamaría, who until now headed the investigation into emergency contracts of the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) between 2020 and 2024 for an alleged offense of prevarication, will leave the investigating court number 13 of Seville. The position to occupy the property of this judicial body was put in competition and, due to its seniority, it will be the current president of the Family Court number 23 of Seville, José Antonio Gómez, according to what Radio reported Sevilla this Tuesday.
Gómez would take office when the BOE published the obtaining of the position, from which he would have eight days to complete the replacement, which would surely generate some delay in the investigation of the case, which Santamaría had accelerated in recent weeks . following the letter from the delegates of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the summons as investigators of the last three officials of the Andalusian Health Service (SAS), summoned to appear during the month of November.
Santamaría had so far requested documents from the Court of Auditors, from the General Intervention of the Junta de Andalucía and also from the SAS, at the request of anti-corruption prosecutors, who on November 11 sent their letter requesting the realization of several investigative procedures, which the court had assumed to determine the facts under investigation, which José Antonio Gómez must now undertake.
The judge asked the Andalusian Government for the file approved by the Governing Council on October 6, 2020, in which the prior inspection of certain health expenditures, organs and services – including controversial emergency contracts – was replaced by a permanent financial control, i.e. ex post audits. The Council, as reported by this media, removed the prior manual control of contracts, appealing to the “maturity” of the Health managers indicted today.
Let us recall that the current trial reproduces, point by point, the investigation opened more than a year ago by elDiario.es Andalucía on the contracts awarded by the Commission to private clinics, taking refuge in the exceptional legal framework of the pandemic when it has already been repealed.
