The head of Valencia's Court number 3, Pepa Tarodo, has ordered the partial dismissal of imputations against José Cataluña and Enrique Gimeno in a derivative of the Azud case. The decision rests on the alleged crimes of irregular campaign financing being time-barred. The case has also been archived for a dozen more investigated individuals.
After seven years of investigation, Judge Pepa Tarodo has ordered the dismissal of imputations against the former finance treasurer of the PSPV-PSOE, José Cataluña, and businessman Enrique Gimeno. The prosecutor's office reported that the alleged crimes, including irregular financing of electoral campaigns in 2007 and 2008, had become time-barred under the Penal Code.
The ruling also archives the imputations of a dozen investigated individuals, among them Juan José Moragues and José Antonio Marugán. The instructor accepted the prosecutor's view that their participation in the events had not been proven.
The Azud case is part of a macro-investigation into public contract awards between 1999 and 2013 linked to both PP and PSOE. During the inquiry, payments by companies such as Gigante de Edificaciones and Facsa to socialist campaigns were mentioned.
