The judge processing 18 people for illegal financing of the PP … – HOME

The judge processing 18 people for illegal financing of the PP … – HOME

Álvaro Pérez Moustaches and Ricardo Costa in an act of Valencian PP. / Carles Francesc

Judge Jose Ceres, which instructs the Gürtel case in Valencia, processed Monday 18 people for alleged electoral offenses (technical name of the illegal financing) in the campaigns of 2007 and 2008 the PP of Valencia, forgery and tax offenses. Among the defendants include the former vice president of the Generalitat Vicente Rambla, the former general secretary of the training Ricardo Costa, the current manager, Cristina Ibáñez, as well as organizational exvicesecretario David Serra and extesorera Yolanda Garcia.

High Court judge Justice of Valencia, which has left finally out of the case to national extesorero Luis Barcenas, has also prosecute the alleged ringleaders of the plot Francisco Correa, Pablo Crespo and Álvaro Pérez, The Whiskers ., and a dozen employers in the construction industry who allegedly made illegal contributions

In the latter group are, among others, the builder Enrique Ortiz, also involved in the Brugal case; Vicente Cotino, nephew of former President of the Valencian Parliament Juan Cotino, against which opened a few days ago another trial for tax fraud by the president of the Generalitat and Bancaja José Luis Olivas, and Rafael Martinez Bern, exresponsable of the bosses in Alicante .

The Ceres judge research has focused on the election campaigns of 2007 and 2008 in Valencia. At that time the president of the Generalitat and the regional PP was Francisco Camps, who has not come to be accused by the facts. The judge also seen evidence of the commission of alleged tax offenses, which indiciariamente attributed to the leaders of the Gürtel network.

The 217-page auto endorse the main conclusions that the police and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor been maintained since five years ago. According to these, employers in the construction industry and public works, which were winners of the Generalitat, expenses paid electoral acts in the campaigns of regional and local elections in 2007 and 2008. A general acts riding group companies Correa. To mask such payments, employers have issued false invoices to companies network concepts.

The investigation has found, however, that global accounts Valencian popular during those years were apparently false. And the party allegedly paid about 3.5 million euros in 2007 and 2008 in black or making use of prohibited donations money.

The parties have considered extending the scope of electoral offense in the Penal Code reform . At the time of the alleged offenses were committed in this case, however, the offense was limited to the “irregular funding” committed “in election campaigns,” recalls the judge Ceres. The “alleged irregularities of expenses and income” are outside the “strict election period” in the years under investigation (2007 and 2008), also of the magistrate for criminal nature, but under the guise of falsehood.

These three separate pieces of the Gürtel case, one for each year and once investigated the alleged crimes prosecutors, is now waiting for the parties to submit their written request qualification and opening or judgment against the defendants.