In Tarragona, the Consorci d'Aigües de Tarragona (CAT) dismissed its compliance officer after he reported alleged irregularities and possible criminal risks inside the water consortium. The officer, identified as X., was hired in March 2023 to help ensure legal compliance and later said he was pushed aside until he took sick leave for anxiety.
X. then went to the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia (OAC), which recognised him as a corruption whistleblower and said he should be protected from retaliation. The CAT later dismissed him in March 2025, saying the reason was inappropriate behaviour, including claims of a poor work environment, sexual innuendo and homophobia. X. denies those allegations.
According to X., his concerns began about six months into the job, when he warned the board about water abstraction from the Ebro river that he said sometimes went beyond permitted concession limits. He also raised the increase in municipalities supplied without updated administrative concessions, and said the CAT paid for 94 annual hectometres while using a maximum of 77, which he estimated could amount to an overcharge of €32 million over a decade.
The CAT is a public-private body created in 1985. It supplies water to hundreds of thousands of people and industries in Camp de Tarragona, and its 2026 budget is €50.3 million. Its board includes the mayors of Tarragona and Reus, Rubén Viñuales and Sandra Guaita. More Catalonia news
X. says the relationship with management worsened after he raised those issues and again after he returned from leave in summer 2024. He says he warned then-president Joan Alginet about a cancelled tender and about Alginet's role on the contracting board, which X. believed was incompatible with his compliance duties. The next day, X. says he was told his duties had changed. He went on medical leave for anxiety and stress on 19 September 2024 and did not return.
A judicial forensic report supports X.'s claim that he suffered harassment and severe psychological damage. After he went on sick leave, he contacted the OAC, which opened five investigations. One was sent to the public prosecutor. Tarragona criminal investigating court number 6 has also opened proceedings for prevarication over the cancelled concession and for alleged workplace harassment. Alginet and Jesús Martín, the director of legal services, have been charged, and the judge must still decide whether to open oral proceedings.
The OAC recognised X. as a protected whistleblower in December 2024 and told the consortium on 13 January. The next day, five employees published a statement on the CAT's LinkedIn page describing him in harsh terms. The general manager, Josep-Xavier Pujol, also sent a report to the OAC accusing X. of insulting and seriously disrespecting staff, and of homophobic, sexist and misogynistic behaviour. X. rejects all of those claims, saying they only appeared after he reported the matter to the OAC. The OAC archived the other complaints but issued three warnings to the CAT.
