The Spanish Tribunal de Cuentas decided on 14 October 2026 to apply the amnesty to proceedings concerning expenditure on the Catalan independence process. This removes the accounting liability of Carles Puigdemont and 34 other former officials of the Generalitat de Catalunya; guarantees lodged will be released. The decision concerns the Court of Auditors’ jurisdiction and should be considered separately from criminal proceedings.
According to the Court of Auditors, the statutory conditions for the amnesty have been met. The court also found insufficient evidence that European Union funds had been used for the items of expenditure examined. These two factors formed the basis of the decision, which removes the civil or accounting liability of those concerned. The items in question relate to activities in the years before the 2017 referendum and to international activities by the Catalan foreign representation.
The decision is part of a series of higher-level legal clarifications. The Constitutional Court upheld large parts of the amnesty in 2025, setting out limits in the process. The Court of Justice of the European Union clarified in summer 2026 how the amnesty relates to EU law, particularly in terms of protecting the EU budget. These decisions provided the legal framework for the Court of Auditors’ action.
The scope of the decision is limited: it concerns accounting liability alone. Criminal proceedings continue independently, unless they have already been covered by the amnesty. In mid-September 2026, the Tribunal Supremo had, in a separate decision, rejected the application of the amnesty to certain embezzlement allegations and upheld related orders. The competent criminal courts will decide on any effects on extradition requests or arrest warrants.
Political assessments are expressly outside the scope of the decision. Representatives of the Generalitat de Catalunya describe it as a step towards institutional normalisation, while critics lament a loss of accountability. In the short term, the technical process is the main concern for those affected: the Tribunal de Cuentas has set deadlines for appeals and the release of guarantees. The full list of the 35 people is included in the decision and in the Court of Auditors’ announcements.
The Tribunal de Cuentas’ application of the amnesty brings a key side issue of the independence process to a provisional close. Whether and to what extent other proceedings will be adjusted depends on decisions by the criminal courts expected in the coming weeks and any appeals against the decision now issued.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).