The threat of huge fines for his role in Catalonia’s failed attempt at independence in 2017 has sparked international condemnation against Catalonian economist and former finance minister Andre Mas-Colel. Mas Colel, 76, who served as finance minister from 2010 to 2016, and 40 other officials, including former Catalan President Artur Mas and Carlos Puigdemont, are accused of illegally using 4.8 million euros between 2011 and 2011, to promote.
In an open letter, 53 economists, including 33 Nobel laureates, wrote: “We are deeply concerned about the news and the situation of Professor Andre Mass-Cole, one of Spain’s most famous and most respected economists, on the court of accounting process Public. Mas-Cole retired from political life in 2016 and was not part of the Puigdemont-led government that declared independence in 2017. The fine, which could go into the hands of millions of people, will be announced on Tuesday.
The founder of the prestigious Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies and a Nobel Prize-winning economist was silent on the case, but his son, Alex Mass Silberstein, an economist at Princeton University, said his father could be broken. . “Within two weeks, my parents’ home, pension and bank account could be confiscated by the state authorities without due process,” he tweeted. “The demand is that the Catalan government used government funds to promote the independence of Catalans and especially the 2017 referendum abroad. This seems to be the goal because it was responsible for implementing the budget elected by Parliament.
The Court of Public Accounts oversees public spending, reports to Parliament, and has powers of audit and jurisdiction. In 2017, the court seized the homes of former President Maas and three of his ministers, who were allegedly involved in holding an independent referendum in 2014. Whatever the involvement of Mass-Cole, there is no doubt that one Catalan government after another has spent heavily to “internationalize” independence, despite the fact that less than half of the population supports this cause. This includes opening at least 1 “embassy” in Europe and America.
