Probe into who funded mass mayors' demo in Brussels supporting Puigdemont

Treasury minister Cristóbal Montoro has written to the State prosecution ordering a probe into who paid the air fare for the councillors who went to Belgium on Tuesday, November 7 in a mass show of support for Catalunya's now-ex regional president Carles Puigdemont, who is currently in exile in the northern European country.

The tax office recently warned the mayors they were not allowed to charge their flights and hotels to their local councils as 'expenses', since this would be considered misuse of public funds or embezzlement.

It is not clear whether they did so, but the warning came after one of the 200 remarked that he would use the municipal pot to fund his trip.

The trip was arranged by the Association for Pro-Independence Municipalities (AMI) and the Catalunya Municipalities' Association (ACM), and involved a charter flight for 170 of them.

Upon their return to Barcelona airport, the organisers assured that each mayor had paid for his or her own flight and accommodation personally, but mayoress of La Garriga, Meritxel Budó, was heard to say she used local taxpayers' funds.

She claimed she was in Belgium 'representing her town', making it 'an official engagement'.

However, mayor of Premiá de Mar, Miquel Buch, claimed the cost of renting the Bozar Hall where the demonstration took place was paid for by European Members of Parliament, or MEPs.

Yet Catalunya Left Republicans' (ERC)'s MEP Josep Maria Terricabras said this was untrue and, in fact, impossible.

“Frankly, I'm not their manager and this is a Marxist question,” he stormed when quizzed.

“Who's paying for this? How would I be paying for it? Apart from anything, our European budget is very tightly controlled.”

Spain's treasury says the AMI receives funds from local councils, meaning if this association had paid for any element of the trip, it would also be considered that it was financed through taxpayers' cash and therefore would amount to embezzlement.