The Criminal Chamber of the National Court has ordered Judge Manuel García Castellón to file the investigation into the alleged financing of Podemos through Venezuela, after the magistrate decided —a year ago— to reopen the case after statements by Hugo El Pollo Carvajal while he was awaiting his extradition process.
As confirmed by legal sources to La Vanguardia, the magistrates
After the arrest of the former head of Venezuelan Intelligence, the National Court began a second investigation into the Podemos accounts, after the first one was closed in 2016, based solely on the controversial PISA Report. It was through information that El Pollo provided as part of the alleged collaboration process with the Spanish Justice so as not to be extradited to the United States.
The Criminal Chamber of the Hearing now considers the appeal presented by the Prosecutor's Office to file this second investigation. The magistrates of this instance superior to Judge Manuel García Castellón align themselves with the postulate of the Public Ministry warning, as ElDiario.es has advanced, that it is a "prospective" investigation.
This is the second setback for García Casatellón after the Chamber gave in a previous appeal the reason also for the Prosecutor's Office to limit its investigations to verifying whether the story of El Pollo was true or not, but without focusing on the witnesses that the detainee pointed out, like Juan Carlos Monedero or Carolina Bescansa.
