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Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Open Probe Into CNIO Contracting Over Alleged Multimillion Irregularities

The step follows a board reorganization that removed three senior officials after an internal report was delivered to prosecutors.

Overview

  • Spain’s Anti-Corruption office has opened investigative proceedings into suspected irregular contracting and accounting at the CNIO, with possible offenses including embezzlement, influence peddling and misconduct.
  • The CNIO board voted unanimously to restructure its management, eliminating posts and removing former manager Juan Arroyo, secretary general Laura Muñoz and deputy manager José Ignacio Fernández Vera.
  • Current manager José Manuel Bernabé submitted a detailed report on November 18 to the Madrid Prosecutor’s Office, and Anti-Corruption received related materials in October.
  • A former director of Purchases and Operations alleges years of split, inflated or fictitious contracts potentially diverting roughly €20–25 million to firms linked to insiders, naming companies such as Geodosol, Alaos ITL SL and Zeus SL.
  • The CNIO’s accounts face ongoing external scrutiny, with annual audits by the State Comptroller and a Tribunal de Cuentas review of 2022–2024 underway.