The Office of Anti-Fraud of Catalonia (OAC) has initiated a new investigation following new complaints regarding the "Riu Ter" Labour Insertion Projects (PIL) service, intended for former foster youth under the Generalitat's care. The complaints suggest the management of "ghost places" by the UTE formed by Fundació Resilis and Mercè Fontanilles, entities already under scrutiny. However, these same witnesses have not detected similar irregularities in other DGAIA child protection services where they have worked.
Concurrently, the judicial path presents difficulties. The Court of Instruction 13 of Barcelona has rejected the request by the entity Guardianes de la Inocencia to reduce the 4,000 euro bail set for filing a lawsuit. Meanwhile, the legal entity Acció Cassandra has filed an appeal with the Barcelona Court of Appeal against the dismissal of its lawsuit by Court of Instruction 27, which deemed there were insufficient grounds to initiate proceedings.
The new Antifrau investigation, announced on March 18th, focuses on "alleged irregularities in the management of residential services or apartments for young people linked to labour insertion programs (PIL) of Riu Ter". According to the decree signed by the director of investigations, Manuel Díaz, a preliminary plausibility assessment has been opened to evaluate the received complaints, which point to the management by the UTE Mercè Fontanilles and Resilis.
Complaints from three witnesses who have worked for the entity describe irregularities in the operation of the labour insertion program for young people aged 16 to 21. The main accusation is that "for years, young people have been registered who are no longer within the program", creating "ghost places" for which the Generalitat continues to pay.
A first witness reports that educational pairs had fewer assigned young people than planned, with half-empty apartments, while the center charged for places occupied by youths who were no longer there. This situation, according to the witness, was known to the entire team and allowed for "less work for the same money".
A second complainant, a socio-labour counsellor, corroborates these claims, detailing that some registered young people lived independently in other cities without receiving any assistance, leaving empty rooms. Furthermore, she mentions the possible falsification of signatures to confirm service continuity, a practice she claims was done to "protect the service" and to which she herself yielded under duress. This same individual later joined another PIL in Girona where she detected no similar anomalies.
A third witness insists on the existence of "ghost places" as a "public secret" within the team. This person indicates that the service director made them leave dates blank on documents to be filled in later as he saw fit, and that signatures and individualised care plans were falsified to simulate the attendance of users who were not benefiting from the resource. Fear of the influence of the implicated entities, such as Resilis and Fundació Mercè Fontanilles, motivated her departure.
Meanwhile, the judicial path remains obstructed. The lawsuit filed by Acció Cassandra for alleged "systemic" irregularities in DGAIA's management, which implicated former councillors and general secretaries, was dismissed by Court of Instruction 27 of Barcelona. The judge cited a lack of sufficient evidence, a decision that has been appealed to the Barcelona Court of Appeal. The lawsuit by Guardianes de la Inocencia, in addition to the denial of bail reduction, has yet to see significant progress.
