Face mask case: what is Torres hiding at the dinner with the advisor of the accused RR7

The investigation committee on Covid-19 equipment procurement in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, which began in April 2024, has held its last session without addressing key cases such as Damco and Tanoja, -€20 million-, the Derbah case, -€1 million-, the Megalab case, -€5 million-, the Marlaska masks case, and the Plus Ultra case. There was also no mention of the Canary Islands Fuel Company scheme, with the company under investigation, Canary Islands Fuel Company, revealed by El Cierre Digital.

The lunch attended by the current Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, with the tax advisor and the brother-in-law of the sole administrator of the company under investigation, RR7 United SL, Rayco Rubén González, at the seafood restaurant El Cangrejo Colorao in July 2021, has been a central topic during the investigation committee on the management of medical supplies in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, in which Torres appeared as former regional president this Monday.

The image of this lunch with Torres in Fuerteventura, together with RR7's advisor, Pablo Carranza, and Rayco's brother-in-law, José Juan Arencibia, was uncovered by El Cierre Digital. Since then, the photo of this meeting has been the subject of questioning for Torres by the Popular Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies, the Senate, and the Parliament of the Canary Islands.

The significance of this image for these investigation committees lies in the fact that Torres met with Carranza and Arencibia, both close to RR7, a company under investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office for the embezzlement of €4 million.

In this last session of the investigation committee in the Canary Islands Parliament, this time, it was the deputy from Coalición Canaria, Vidina Espino, who questioned Torres about this "controversial" lunch. Vidina pointed out that this meeting took place in July 2021, according to other statements in this committee.

She asked the minister whether he helped RR7 or if they requested any action from him. This company received a second chance from the Canary Islands Health Service precisely in July 2021, because RR7 failed to deliver a first batch of 3 million masks for which Torres's government paid €4 million.

Torres acknowledged the meeting at El Cangrejo Colorao, his personal relationship with Arencibia—brother of Belén Arencibia, also under investigation in the RR7 case—but stated that "this meeting didn't take place in July, but in August 2021." Vidina replied, "It must've been to thank you for the action."

Additionally, Vidina recalled the Plus Ultra case, the airline that had to transport medical supplies to the Canary Islands.

El Cierre Digital revealed in March 2022 that the Canary Islands-based company One Airways, after being contracted by Torres's government for €1 million, couldn't fulfill this mask transport because it lacked the necessary permits for this task.

This is reflected in the first complaint revealed by our newspaper, which was reported to the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the State Attorney General's Office, the National Police UDEF, and the Court of Auditors.

TORRES ACKNOWLEDGES "THERE MAY BE MORE MESSAGES FROM KOLDO AND AL DAMA"

Similarly, Minister Ángel Víctor Torres has been questioned by several parliamentary groups about his possible connection with Víctor de Aldama, Koldo García, and Ignacio Díaz Tapia, since some reports from the Civil Guard's UCO mention messages referring to Torres.

All of this is related to the Koldo case, which investigates the multimillion-euro awards of medical supplies obtained by the company Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a Empresas SL, and the company Eurofins Megalab.

Torres stated that "there'll be more messages—in relation to Aldama and Koldo—but there won't be any act by Ángel Víctor Torres outside the law in the UCO report."

THE DAMCO CASE UNINVESTIGATED BY THE CANARY ISLANDS PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE

The case of the company under investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Damco Trading Services SA, hasn't been addressed by the investigation committee on medical supplies in the Parliament of the Canary Islands.

Damco received €17 million for supplying medical supplies to the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), under Torres's regional presidency. The sole administrator of Damco, Noel Jammal, is under investigation for alleged bribery and embezzlement. The same applies to the former director of SCS, Conrado Domínguez, and the former director of Economic Resources of SCS, Ana María Pérez.

The company Tanoja Services SL—investigated along with Damco by the European Public Prosecutor's Office—received €3 million in SCS contracts.

When Minister Ángel Víctor Torres was questioned by deputy Vidina Espino about "whether the former director of Economic Resources of SCS, Ana María Pérez, managed the €100 million from the Canary Islands government alone during his term," Torres limited himself to saying that "he only met her once at an event," and that "he didn't know the SCS technicians in charge of managing the masks."