Investigators Probing Alleged Links Between Russia, Catalan Separatists Near Puigdemont

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) Several of the 21 Catalan separatists who were arrested on Wednesday, including key supporters of the region's former president, Carles Puigdemont, have claimed that Russia supported their efforts to gain independence, according to legal documents published by a Barcelona court on Wednesday.

Police detained 21 people with links to the Catalan independence movement on Wednesday on suspicion of corruption and misusing public funds, with some of those arrested in connection with their role in funding Puigdemont's residence in Belgium.

In the legal documents, which were seen by a Sputnik correspondent, the president of the CATmon pro-independence foundation, Victor Terradellas, is said to have told Puigdemont in 2017 that he had contacts with officials in Russia, who had proposed sending soldiers to Catalonia and paying off Catalan debts should the region declare independence.

"Terradellas explained that the head of the Russian group offered Carles Puigdemont 10,000 soldiers and to pay off all Catalan debts," the legal document reads.

Puigdemont is said to have declined the offer, which was made on October 24, 2017, three days before the region's parliament unilaterally declared independence.

As investigations continue, other separatists were said to have been in talks with Russian officials over a cryptocurrency system that could ensure the transfer of funds to support the independence movement.

Investigators are also probing allegations that Oriol Soler, a well-known media figure, met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London to develop a "disinformation strategy" that could have potentially involved Russian outlets such as Russia Today or Sputnik, according to the legal documents.

Spanish media outlets reported in late 2019 that the country's authorities had opened an investigation into Russia's alleged role in the 2017 Catalonia referendum. The government in Madrid has not recognized the results of the referendum, which saw 92 percent of voters express their desire for independence.

Following the launch of the investigation in 2019, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied the allegations and accused the Spanish authorities of an "anti-Russia campaign."