The Unidad Central Operativa, known as UCO, of the Guardia Civil has submitted a report to the Supreme Court judge investigating General Prosecutor Álvaro García Ortiz. This report confirms that García Ortiz received two official mobile phones, neither of which has been returned since their issuance. Notably, he reset one of these devices just days after the Supreme Court initiated an investigation into allegations of confidential data breaches.
García Ortiz received his first mobile phone on the twenty-fourth of May in two thousand twenty-four, followed by a second device several months later on the eighteenth of December. According to the UCO report, he has retained both phones since their issue and has not returned them due to disuse or replacement. It further details that he reset the first device, as per an email request received from the supplying agency on the twenty-fourth of October.
The Supreme Court judge, Ángel Hurtado, raised concerns after discovering the absence of messages on both devices, coinciding with a noted incident where the prosecutor deleted all content from his phones on the same day the Supreme Court opened the investigation. This deletion has led the judge to suspect that García Ortiz may have intentionally destroyed evidence that could aid the investigation.
In a recent court order, Judge Hurtado rejected a challenge submitted by García Ortiz regarding his summons for investigation, describing the prosecutor’s actions as evidence of possible evidence tampering. Amid mounting pressure, García Ortiz stated in the Senate that he had to close his personal email account and change his mobile line due to harassment following revelations regarding his personal data in the ongoing investigation.
This article was written with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor before publication.