The Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office has opened proceedings against the Cup for a budget of EUR 168,666.64 for the campaign for the referendum on 1 October 2017. In particular, a study was carried out on the budget that was used for the performance of the video Ara comença el Mambo (Manboa now begins) and for the publication and presentation of the book Referèndum 2017: the clau that plays the pany (Referendum 2017: the key that opens the lock).

The investigation is based on a motion for a resolution by Citizens, which has denied any form of discrimination. In the letter, the right-wing party stated a year ago that legislation stipulates that parliamentary groups cannot allocate the budget derived from Parliament to “pay for illegal actions”. Citizens believe that the referendum on independence in Catalonia would be an illegal act and should be endorsed.

The Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office investigates whether the Cup has made improper use of money by the right, which has led to an intervention by the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office. It is for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to decide whether the case is processed or filed with a court. If the investigation comes to court, a case is opened against the Cup, which does not exclude some members of the Cup from being prosecuted. According to the newspaper Ara, legal sources of the party say that the procedure goes very quickly to prevent the case from being filed. “The Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened the investigation ex officio and has therefore taken the position of considering these facts as a crime and has already declared a fortnight of people, demonstrating that the investigation is exhaustive and that one wants to prosecute,” says one of the sources.

In relation to the case, they have called to declare former campaign suppliers and members of the national secretariat of the Cup. The citations to make the declarations began in February, but as a result of the coronavirus outbreak there was an interruption in the process until the citations have resumed in recent weeks. According to VilaWeb, a fortnight of people have already declared and were called to testify on Monday 24 August to a person who in 2016-2017 was part of the party’s national secretariat. In addition to the statements, the Prosecutor ' s Office has requested the party ' s internal documentation, such as the list of members of the national secretariat or the budget for the referendum campaign or the parliamentary group.

"The Prosecutor's Office has escaped a corrupt heir to Franco like Juan Carlos I. But they pursue the #Partit Recycling campaign, which defended democracy. We would do it again”, you can read in the message that the CUP has made public through social networks:

The Tax Deixa fugar-se a corrupte i un hereu del francosme com Juan Carlos I

Però pursueix a bells defending democracy #Particles Partit

I ho tornaríem a fer pic.twitter.com/Gv7oQIQKw6

— CUP Països Catalans (@cupnacional) August 24, 2020