The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court confirmed in substance the sentence pronounced by the Second Criminal Chamber of the National Court according to which prosecuted one of the elements of the case known as the Gürtel affair (Journal de Bárcenas) condemning the two administrators of UNIFICA SL, a firm responsible for carrying out reforms at the headquarters on rue Génova, for an offense of tax fraud referring to the 2007 financial year, as well as the former treasurer of the PP Luis Bárcenas as collaborator necessary to facilitate the fraud by making a certain percentage of due payments in an opaque manner, with black money.
They were declared civilly liable to pay the amount of tax evaded, if the criminal officials do not do so, as long as UNIFICA SL, like the Popular Party (this, like Luis Bárcenas, only up to the fraudulent amount attributable to the payments in B). This statement is valid. This was not disputed.
However, the cassation judgment returns to some minor issues, of an essentially technical nature, which lead to reducing the prison sentences from 2 years and 9 months to 9 months (that of the two main perpetrators) and from 2 years to 8 months ( that of Luis Bárcenas as necessary cooperator), in addition to the corresponding fines, which are set at 200,000 euros for each of the two directors, and at 180,000 euros for Bárcenas.
The reduction in penalties is not so much due to the acquittal of the crime of lying to which the Supreme Court agrees, considering that these are ideological lies committed by individuals, which are decriminalized except in exceptional cases (which does not does not necessarily have an impact on the penalty); as well as the assessment of a mitigating circumstance of unjustified delay, based on the long period of time elapsed (five years) between the conclusion of the investigation and the oral trial.
The judgment explains that, even if this dysfunction is not attributable to the judicial function or to the magistrates, but the structural deficiencies of the Administration of Justice and the overload of work do not correspond to the necessary provision of material and personal means, this does not deprive those who suffered this violation of their right to a trial within a reasonable time. legal mitigation. .
The total amount defrauded was also revised downwards because it was understood, just like the prosecutor of the instance, that the sums which had actually been taxed the following year, although at a lower tax rate, could not be included in the amount defrauded. The fraud would only concern this lower percentage, but not the total amount which, essentially, was declared and paid. The defrauded fee thus goes from 870,000 to 374,000 euros.
The Court’s judgment acquitted other charges (money laundering, other tax fraud, illicit association, etc.) and rejected various sustained civil actions, both, due to various popular accusations. The Supreme Court considers these decisions to be correct.
The judgment also confirms the decision of the National Court to condemn the popular accusations of pay the costs of an accused who was acquitted as well as those supported by the Popular Party regarding the allegations made by these accusations without being legitimized to do so, in contradiction with the known guidelines of jurisprudence.
The acquittal of Luis Bárcenas for the offense of embezzlement for which he was accused is also confirmed, having already been the subject of an a three-year prison sentence for unavoidable facts of those currently on trial. The criteria of the National Court are ratified: it was res judicata and, in addition, civil responsibilities were extinguished by the resignation of the injured party (Popular Party).
