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UCO Files Show Red.es Evaluators Tilted Contracts Toward Barrabés

Leaked emails plus a UCO report sent to EU prosecutors and Judge Juan Carlos Peinado allege evaluators adjusted scores, concealed missing paperwork and steered multi‑million euro awards to the company linked to Juan Carlos Barrabés.

Overview

  • The UCO material published Friday revealed internal Red.es emails in which evaluators wrote that 'Barrabés is the good one' and discussed lowering top scores to ensure his offer won.
  • Investigators say evaluators agreed to hide that Barrabés’s bids lacked a required 'Libro Blanco', and then rated his UTE with top marks on the judged criteria.
  • The UCO concluded the UTE The Valley–Barrabés was the main beneficiary of a 'decisive arbitrariness' in subjective scoring and sent its report to the European Public Prosecutor and to Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who opened judicial inquiries.
  • The contested adjudications total more than €10 million and include recommendation letters from Begoña Gómez, raising political sensitivity and intense media scrutiny.
  • The evidence illustrates how subjective evaluation rules can be abused: investigators found scores fixed first and wording altered later, and some evaluators expressed shame at the manipulation which could lead to criminal charges for prevarication and fraud against the EU.