On September 16, 2013, the Government of Artur Mas presented a manifesto that promoted the Pacte Nacional pel Dret a Decidir (National Pact for the Right to Decide), that in the Government of Mariano Rajoy it was seen as a true sovereignist challenge. In the agendas of the curator José Manuel Villarejo, one of the promoters of the so-called “Barna Project” or “Operation Catalonia” to investigate without judicial control the Catalan political leaders, this declaration had an evident repercussion. The former head of the Central Operational Support Unit (UCAO) Enrique García Castañoknown by the nickname of ‘El Gordo’, and who in Villarejo’s agendas is identified as “Big” [Grande]informed the retired commissioner that they had decided to acquire the Israeli espionage system of the Rayzone Group company, one of whose owners Matia Caspy was an intermediary in a sale of Pegasus, as reported by EL PERIÓDICO.
“Big. Purchase of equipment commissioned by Pino,” Villarejo wrote on that same September 16, 2013. And a few lines later, the commissioner wrote a brief summary of the conversation he had had that same day with the then deputy director of operations (DAO ) of the Police, the highest uniformed position in the National Police Corps (CNP), Eugenio Pino: “Also about opaque purchase of CC equipment [control de comunicaciones]”.
These two notes on the allegedly fraudulent acquisition of these Israeli equipment that allow breaking into telephones, computers and mobile devices are not isolated in the agendas, which were intervened by prosecutors of the Tándem case, Miguel Serrano and Ignacio Stampa. Since at least May 21, 2013, Villarejo had been noting in his diary unequivocal actions that confirm the complaint filed by the former head of Internal Affairs of the Police Marcelino Martín-Blas against Eugenio Pino himself and the then chief of staff of the latter, José Ángel Fuentes Gago, in which he alluded to the evidence of the alleged payment made to the firm Rayzone Group, in exchange for the delivery of spy material to a hotel in Barcelona.
“They buy the machine”
“Big [García Castaño]. He warned me that they buy the machine. 500 Brazil, 800 Jewish”, he wrote on May 21, 2013. A month later, on June 17 of the same year, another police contact, “Agil” [según las fuentes consultadas podría tratarse de Agustín Linares] informs the retired commissioner of his relations with an espionage company: “He has contact with the Jewish CC team [control de comunicaciones]. In July, it is once again García Castaño who informs Villarejo of “processes on a CC machine”.
And on July 24, this same commissioner reports on the “delivery of equipment. With Mariano.” In the latter case, it would be Commissioner Mariano Hervaswho was initially accused in the ‘Kitchen case’, of espionage to the former treasurer of the PP Luis Bárcenas, although finally the National Court decided not to put him on the bench as there was no evidence that he was engaging in criminal conduct in this case. And on August 9 he continues: “Mariano. Data adjustments and pending specification of the collection day.”
On October 7, 2013, Villarejo summarizes a new conversation he has with “Mariano”. “Delivery of new phone for cook [Sergio Ríos, el exchófer de Bárcenas que según la Fiscalía Anticorrupción cobró fondos reservados a cambio de sustraer información al extesorero]. QC testing pending [control de comunicaciones]”.
On December 24, 2013, Villarejo already fully identified “Mariano Hervás. Congratulations, he ate with Pin [Eugenio Pino]Agile [Agustín Linares] and Big [García Castaño]. Theme CC”. And two days later, after the aforementioned lunch, Villarejo writes the reference that García Castaño transfers to him about what had been discussed at the meeting: “Big ate with Agil and Pin. Mariano also went to talk about the CC machine that the Jews are offering”.
“Meetings” and “demonstrations”
As reported by EL PERIÓDICO, Israeli businessman Matian Caspy, who, according to the Israeli press, acted as an intermediary for the company NSO Group, -the owner of the Pegasus espionage system-, also supplied the ‘sewers’ of the Police of the Government of Mariano Rajoy with a system that allowed breaking into mobile phones and devices without a trace. This is stated in a letter of invitation sent on July 31, 2014 by Caspy, one of the owners of the Rayzone Group firm, to the then Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) of the Police, Eugenio Pino, in which he refers to the systems from InterApp and Sprinter espionage, but not Pegasus.
In the letter, the Israeli firm set an appointment for August 11 of the same year, 2014 with the intention of carrying out “a field test” that included “a live demonstration of a tactical passive GSM system”, specifies the document, which completes that the meetings would take place after the “encounters” and “demonstrations” that had been held on previous dates with the police leadership of the Government of Mariano Rajoy.
The agendas also show some alleged work that could have been done from the Villarejo environment: “Agil [Agustín Linares] propose to Pin [Eugenio Pino] that the page of the Assembly of Catalonia can be penetrated, not collapsed, and for little money, less than some Brazilians who have offered for 90”.
“Hack the Assembly of Catalonia”
And on December 17, 2014 Villarejo says that Agustín Linares, “with a group of Chinese, he is the one who hacks the pages of the Assembly of Catalonia [sic]. Also equipment to intercept. Fly with Big shown [el comisario García Castaño]”. Two months later, the commissioner writes the reason why Linares was angry with García Castaño: “Agil says that Big has the machine that is worth three million for joints [teléfonos, en argot policial]”.
On October 20, 2021, García Castaño denied in the appearance he made in Congress for the ‘Kitchen case’ commission that he had bought the equipment from the Rayzone Group: “We don’t have it. I tried to buy it seven years ago and we don’t have it As far as I know, we don’t have it, because we didn’t have economic funds and, apart from that, they didn’t sell it to us. They didn’t want to sell it to us.”
Precisely, Villarejo’s diaries show the problems he would have had the police of the Government of Mariano Rajoy to pay the supposed payments to which he had committed. And according to the commissioner, who does not specify whether the payment was for these Israeli machines or for other jobs, they would have resorted to the then general secretary of the PP Maria Dolores de Cospedal, that in 2013 and 2014 she was also the president of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha.
is not charged
On April 20, the Criminal Chamber of the National Court refused to continue investigating the actions of María Dolores de Cospedal and her husband, Ignacio López del Hierro in the espionage of Luis Bárcenas, and decided to file the accusations of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor against marriage. The magistrates downplayed the annotations that alluded to the payments allegedly made by Cospedal and his entourage: “These annotations and messages are not sufficient evidence of the participation of Ignacio López del Hierro or María Dolores de Cospedal in the events under investigation, since they are weakened by the testimonies of those investigated Jose Manuel Villarejo, Sergio Rios and Andres Manuel Gomez Gordo“, the judges specified in their car.
However, EL PERIÓDICO has confirmed that Villarejo alluded on at least a dozen occasions to the payments that Cospedal would have committed to with the sewer policemen, given that Eugenio Pino explained to the retired commissioner on December 11, 2013 that “he did not have the funds to pay what was pending”.
On May 13, 2013, in the middle of the “Barna Project” or “Operation Catalonia”, Villarejo assured that “MD [María Dolores de Cospedal] She is ready for anything”. On May 21, the commissioner communicated to the chief of staff of the then president of Castilla-La Mancha, José Luis Ortiz, -always according to the agendas-, that there was “a pending payment”. “MD understands that it is necessary to pay what is pending and appreciates that the Catalan theme be continued,” says a note from July 1, 2013.
“Five receipts from Cospe”
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In October the commissioner informs “Ortiz” again that they were “at 30%”. And on November 6: “Cospedal worried about the 5 payments of 200“. The same day, García Castaño spoke to him about a million (1K) and not about “5 deliveries out of 200”. On October 11, the former head of the UCAO provided Villarejo with “data on the million delivered in Caja CM”. On November 20 and 28, 2013, the alleged head of the police clan spoke again with García Castaño and Eugenio Pino “about pending payments to Cospe” and “five receipts from Cospe.”
With the change of year, in February 2014, the commissioner claims “IHL” [Ignacio López del Hierro] What did I pay. He promises to do it,” writes Villarejo, who concludes on September 15, 2014: “Cospe. 18.15 in Orfila. Change at the end to headquarters. 7th. Ask me to do an analysis of Esquerra. He understands that I want to retire. He promises to pay the 100″ debt.