Two business figures verify that two undisclosed initiatives linked to the Begoña Gómez chair remain to incur expenditure, despite being unacknowledged by the UCM.
A Fresh Take:
Two tech entrepreneurs, associated with Devoteam consultancy, have testified in court about two mystery projects linked to Begona Gomez's chair at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), revealing these projects have been racking up costs even after the chair's closure last September.
The juicy details unfolded on Thursday during a court hearing regarding Gomez's influence-peddling and corruption case. The judge, Juan Carlos Peínádo, called these witnesses after receiving documentation from UCM in May. The docs showed that the entrepreneurs had alerted the uni about these secret projects – unknown to the uni – back in the day.
Talking turkey, it turns out these projects were parts of a software-related project headed by Gomez, reportedly funded by Google. According to sources present at the inquiry, the entrepreneurs completed their part of the project in 2023's summer.
To cut the long story short, the entrepreneurs disclosed that these projects had been generating expenses for them. They even suspended the service, only to inform the court about it with the aim of supporting the legal process.
Delving into finer details, UCM revealed to the court that these projects were among thousands of cloud projects created by students or research staff, making it challenging to find specific projects. In fact, the university couldn't access the projects, leaving their content obscured.
However, the university claims they have conducted investigations and found no signs that these particular projects were ever registered. Here's an interesting tidbit: every year, the university oversees more than 9,800 cloud projects!
For what it's worth, ongoing investigations surrounding Gomez's case are centered around alleged influence trafficking, misconduct in chair management, improper software use, and the appointment of her advisor, Cristina Alvarez.
Oh, by the way, this particular case kicked off in April 2024, following a complaint filed by Manos Limpias. Since then, branches of the case have expanded due to subsequent complaints from Hazte Oir and Vox.
As this saga takes many twists and turns, it's worth mentioning that earlier charges against the UCM rector and the director of IE have since been dismissed. Four individuals remain under investigation at present: Gomez herself, her advisor Cristina Alvarez, delegate of the Government in Madrid Francisco Martin Aguirre, and businessman Juan Carlos Barrabes.
So, the ball continues to roll in this dive-worthy legal drama. Keep an eye on this one!
Intriguing Insights:- Pedro Sánchez - the current Spanish Prime Minister - is married to Begona Gomez, who finds herself tangled in this high-profile corruption case.- The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) has been linked to the case due to several unregistered and unknown projects that were uncovered during the course of the investigation.- Details regarding the exact nature of these projects and their connection to Gomez remain murky, with UCM facing challenges in accessing and identifying them amidst the massive number of university-related projects.
- The current Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, is facing unexpected complications as his wife, Begona Gomez, is embroiled in a high-profile corruption case involving the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).
- The mystery projects linked to Gomez's chair at UCM, which have been generating expenses for the tech entrepreneurs involved, are amidst general-news headlines, creating a buzz in politics, finance, and business circles due to their association with a software-related project funded by Google.
