«Flipa, they not only contacted him but also the president»

Two days later, a WhatsApp conversation between Samuel Machín, who acted as a commission agent for RR7 United, and the owner of that company, Rayco González, includes a reference to Ángel Víctor Torres, president of the Canary Islands at that time and today minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory: «Brother, it’s amazing, they not only contacted him [Conrado Domínguez] but also with the president of the Government, It’s crazy, like it’s a criminal organization.

Instead of denouncing what happened and resolving any relationship with RR7, activating at that moment the recovery of the 4 million paid to the company for one million masks of the 1860 model from the 3M company, the Canarian Health Service He ended up giving the company another chance. It consisted of the delivery of 1.2 million masks of another model, material that also did not arrive.

CANARIAS7 has accessed the exchange of messages between Rayco González, owner of RR7 United, and Samuel Machín, who acted as commission agent and contact between the company and Conrado Domínguez.

That December 27, 2020, Conrado Domínguez copies via Whatsapp to Samuel Machín an email that he had received signed by David Wright, CEO of Guardian Global Trading. The email is addressed to “esteemed President Pérez and Excellency Oramas”, which are the second surnames of Ángel Víctor Torres and the former Minister of Health, Blas Trujillo. The entire text refers to the operation developed by RR7 United to obtain masks.

What you are told is that Guardian Global Trading has received an order to one million 3M 1860 masks, with the AWD group as an intermediary, and that the manufacturing was entrusted to the South African company Lylatech, “which had promised that within a period of two weeks it would provide access to the product for verification and transaction purposes” [El mensaje estaba en inglés y fue traducido al español con una aplicación].

David Wright adds that they came to the conclusion that Lylatech was deceiving them and then details that the money paid by the Government of the Canary Islands to RR7 is in the possession “of Macintosh’s lawyers, Cross and Faquharson, under the curatorship of lawyer Latham Dixon , (…) and we have been informed by 3M (…) that they will instruct the South African Police Service to seize the product until a resolution is obtained. Please don’t think I’m threatening you in any way. “We would all like to provide your Government with these critical medical supplies as soon as possible, but we only want the parties who are truly authorized to provide you with this service to follow proper channels and ethics.”

The businessman Ishan Al Sabbagh, who has also been charged by the European Prosecutor’s Office in the Masks case, is mentioned, as is Lucas Cruz, who also mediated the operation, and Samuel Machín himself.

Domínguez’s concern

What does Conrado Domínguez do with that message that reaches Health? He copies it via WhatsApp to Samuel Machín and adds: “Have the masks been delivered yet?”

At 8:36 p.m. on December 27, 2020, Machín answers: “Let me find out about this and I’ll tell you something.”

-Conrado Domínguez: I was amazed. Tell me tomorrow.

-Samuel Machín: Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.

-CD: When do you plan to deliver them?

In parallel, the commission agent Samuel Machín copies that conversation to the owner of RR7.

-YE: Brother, what can I tell you!!! Conrado is asking me when we plan to deliver the masks. I told him that I will confirm tomorrow.

-Rayco González: Tomorrow we will update Conrado on everything, Lucas and Ihsan are talking now.

The conversation between the owner of RR7 and Samuel Machín ends that day with the exchange of images of luxury cars. It should be remembered that RR7 was a vehicle buying and selling company, without healthcare experience.

On December 28, it is Samuel Machín who sends a morning message to Conrado Domínguez.

-SM: Good morning mister!!! I’ve freaked out more than you. But everything is already solved. Call me as soon as you can to explain.

-CD: Ok. When is it delivered?

-SM: Our lawyers are preparing a letter to send to you during the day explaining what has happened, during the day they also tell me when the merchandise will be here, okay…

-CD: Great, we’ll talk later.

On December 29, it is Rayco González who sends Samuel Machín a copy of a message sent by Charles Douglas, from the company LLP, explaining to the director of the SCS that there is no one in his company with the name of David Wright and that what he had received was prepared by a criminal group. He adds that the masks will arrive “tomorrow” to Gran Canaria “via private air flight.”

Samuel Machín answers him and tells him about a conversation with Conrado Domínguez: “Brother, it’s crazy, they not only contacted him but also with the President of the Government, it’s crazy, like it’s a criminal organization.”

That day the 29th everyone relaxes before the message that says that the masks were going to arrive. In the afternoon, Samuel Machín sends Rayco González this text in a festive tone, with emoticons included: “Conrado says to bring the masks since he wants to see us to have the company dinner with us,” he says. “That little brother makes me afraid of dinner.”

Three months passed before a cargo left Addis Adeba bound for Gran Canaria. But the Customs Service detained them: they came with counterfeit stamps from Peru and on March 25, 3M confirmed to RR7 that the masks were not their brand.

On May 13, 2021, the contract resolution was published. Health did not initiate legal action, Nor did he make public what happened, nor did he inform Parliament. Quite the opposite: in June the contacts between RR7, Lucas Cruz, Samuel Machín, Conrado Domínguez and the director of Economic Resources of the SCS, Ana María Pérez, were already finalized to reactivate the contract in exchange for the commitment of the car company to deliver 1.2 million masks of another model, maintaining the cost of the operation.

That merchandise did not arrive either and only then did the Government resort to embargo. To this day he has not recovered a cent.

At the European Public Prosecutor’s Office

All of these conversations are part of the material that was delivered at the time by Rayco González to Judge Francisco Javier García García-Sotoca, who began investigating the Masks case in the capital of Gran Canaria based on the complaint filed by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The messages were sent to the National Police for analysis.

At that moment the European Public Prosecutor’s Office entered the scene, which assumed powers upon understanding that community funds had been used. This supervisory body lifted the secrecy of the proceedings, expanded the list of those investigated and He has summoned them all between April and May to testify in Madrid to give the appropriate explanations.