The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into possible misappropriation of European funds related to Spain’s first quantum computer. This quantum computer has been located at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) since September of last year and was unveiled last February by the Pedro Sánchez government at an event attended by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Functions, Óscar López, and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant.
The initiation of the procedure, reported by El Confidencial and confirmed by El Periódico, led officers from the police’s Economic and Fiscal Crimes Unit (UDEF) to arrive at the supercomputing center in Barcelona last Wednesday to collect documents that may be relevant to the ongoing investigation into the use of the €8.1 million in Next Generation funds earmarked for the Quantum project in Spain. The investigation stems from a complaint about alleged irregularities that may have occurred during the tender process.
Presenting the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Functions, launched by the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, to develop a robust quantum computing infrastructure in Spain, Moncloa explained that the goal is integration with the BSC MareNostrum5 supercomputer and the rest of the RES. This will enable Spanish research groups and industries to utilize the superior computing capacity for experiments and the development of products and applications.
“Until now, access to quantum computing was offered primarily by large technology companies, with limited options and high prices. Now, Spain is making it available to academia, industry, and the public sector, removing barriers to innovation,” Minister López emphasized that day. “Quantum computing has the potential to generate extraordinary advances in such vital areas as disease prediction, air traffic optimization, highly secure communications, and the development of new medicines and materials,” he added.
Sources from the Ministries of Digital Transformation and Public Service, and Science, Innovation, and Universities express their “full willingness to cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office” and explain that “the Quantum Spain project, funded with €22 million from the economic recovery plan, aims to create a Spanish quantum ecosystem through the development of a high-performance quantum computer.”
This project was implemented at the BSC, which was entrusted with the development, after the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence confirmed that the conditions required by the regulations for authorizing subcontracting had been met. For this reason, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Universities, who chairs the BSC’s Administrative Board, wrote to the center’s director requesting information about the contract. This information suggests that an extraordinary meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council could be convened.
BSC sources, however, denied any irregularities to Europa Press and emphasized that the institute is “permanently” subject to the supervision of the relevant supervisory authorities.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office began its work in June 2021. As an independent body of the European Union, comprising 23 member states, it is responsible for investigating crimes that undermine the EU’s financial interests, as well as for prosecuting perpetrators and bringing them to justice. Specifically, it is responsible for combating fraud, corruption, money laundering and cross-border VAT fraud, which accounts for the majority of proceedings initiated in Spain.
