Digital Forensics Dispatch

Spain’s Popular Party Acquitted of Data Destruction Charges

September 10, 2019

According to Expatica, Spain’s conservative Popular Party  has been acquitted of all charges in its alleged role in the destruction of evidence. Spain’s Popular party (PP), was undergoing trial for the destruction of evidence in a case dating back to 2013 involving the party’s former treasurer, Luis Barcenas. Trial for the PP began in June, the first time Spain has had a political party on trial.

The party had been accused of taking the hard drives of the former treasurer, Barcenas, before the investigators had been able to access them. The hard drives were then allegedly wiped clean by one of the defendants, Jose Manuel Moreno, an IT Specialist for the PP. It is alleged that the hard drives contained information about an illegal funding racket within the PP. The court deemed that was unclear as to whether the hard drives stored any data when they were wiped, and no proof that they were cleaned to obfuscate evidence.

Defense counsel argued that the drives were wiped to be in compliance with Spain’s data protection laws. When the drives were wiped, the former treasurer was under investigation and was eventually found guilty in May of 2018 for having benefitted from funds that were illegally obtained. Barcenas was sentenced to 33 years in jail and the PP was fined the Euro equivalent of $268,000.

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