Who's who in the largest PP corruption cases

Latest PP corruption scandals in Madrid put the party way behind in voter intention polls

SPAIN -- "The voters are absolutely fed up with all the corruption coming out now," said a supporter of the new alternative party, Podemos, at a rally the other day. Her opinion reflects the result of the latest poll by El País, which has put the PP and also the PSOE into a panic. This is just the latest in a string of scandals that have flowered over the last years, though by no means are these limited to the governing party. However, the list is so long that we can only present the PP cases below. Other cases will come up here as we can write about them. For that purpose we've done a Who's Who of the bigger cases that have come to court, with the proceedings as they stand on Sunday, November 2. (Those politicians, business people and others, below, are not part of the latest upheavel that has resulted in 53 arrests on a huge number of charges, some of whom are in jail, though -- we will be doing their list later.) Enjoy:

Bárcenas case

(www.elmundo.es)

<Ángel Acebes. Former Secretary General of the PP and former central government minister under José María Aznar. He has made his statement before the judge in charge of this investigation and imputed in the so-called Bátrcenas Papers case involving the alleged 'black money' financing of the party. He is out on bail.

Álvaro Lapuerta. Former Treasurer of the PP (2003-2008). Involcved in the same case as Acebes, he has been questioned about buying shares in Libertad Digital (an online news site) with 'black money'.

Santiago Abascal. Senior PP leader in the province of Álava. He is in preventive detention. He is mentioned in the Bárcenas Papers case as having received €12,000 in cash in 1999 and admits the money was as a 'consideration' for the destruction of his shop in Almurria by Kale Borroka, an ETA-linked organization.

Luis Bárcenas Gutiérrez. Former Treasurer of the central PP organization. He is in preventive detention since June 2013, as ordered by Judge Ruz to avoid the possibility of escape and to ensure the security of proof. He is accused of tax evasion, money laundering, false documentation in mercantile business, and three other charges.

Ángel Sanchís Perales. Former PP Treasurer. He was charged in 2013 in the Bárcenas case for alleged money laundering. Last September he was given bail at €8 million.

Use of do-as-you-will credit cards, or the 'Tarjetas B' ('B Cards) case

(Image from Left to Right: Miguel Blesa, Arturo Fernández, Rafael Spottorno, Rodrigo Rato, José Antonio Moral Santín y Ildefonso Sánchez Barcoj.) Standing out is Rodrigo Rato (bottom left), former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was President of Bankia at the time of the B Cards case. He has 'temporarily' given up his membership of the PP. There are several more businessmen and politicians involved in this case, but Rato is the most prominent. The image shows the main alleged perpetrators of what could well become a case of tax evasion and more.

 

Brugal Case

Sonia Castedo. Mayoress of Alicante. Two charges about which she is scheduled to be questioned on November 27 on charges of malfeasance and traffic of influence (using her position to influence something for payment). The investigative judge wants to know if she benefitted a particular builder. She is also imputed in a separate branch of this Brugal Case, involving the alleged rigging of the General Ordinance Plan (PGOU) for Alicante.

Luis Díaz Alperi. Former Mayor of Alicante, he is charged with bribery, influence traffic, and revelation of secrets in the Brugal Case, he has been processed in three tax crimes.

José Joaquín Ripoll. Former President of the Alicante Province Diputación. Im,puted in the Brugal Case, in its Waste Plan branch, for alleged bribery, fraud, influence traffic, revelation of secrets and activities forbidden to civil servants.

Palma Arena Case

This is the case in which Iñaki Urdangarín, Duke of Palma de Mallorca, and brother-in-law of King Felipe VI, has been involved and questioned. On 6 February 2012, Urdangarin appeared before a judge regarding allegations of corruption. He is being investigated, with 14 others, including Jaume Matas, former premier of the Balearics. He appeared again on 25 February 2012 in Mallorca to answer questions before the investigating judge, José Castro.His wife, the Infanta Cristina, was also questioned, but no charges arose. They have moved to Geneva with their children, reportedly in relative penury, and have returned to Spain only on occasion and under much secrecy. The Left-wing press continues to claim that they're not being treated like everyone else. There are 14 others involved, including:

Jaume Matas. Ex-President of the Government of the Balearics and former Minister for the Environment in Madrid. He was sentenced to months and jailed last July, guilty of influence traffic to benefit, with public money, a journalist who wrote his speeches. Also condemned for bribery, for which he was fined €9,000. His future looks dark with a long succession of judicial obstacles.

Gürtel Case

blogs.publico.es

(Note:  Not all described below are in the photo, and vice versa.)

Alberto López Viejo. Ex Councillor for Sports of the Community of Madrid (that's the region, not the city, which has its own government). Accused of bribery, influence trafficking, money laundering and falsifying documents. He is out on bail of €750,000.

Jesús Merino Delgado. Former national Deputy for the PP. Accused of bribery, tax fraud and money laundering.

José Luis Peñas. Ex Councillor at Majadahonda (Community of Madrid). He uncovered the Gürtel Case after recording the leaders of the corruption network for hours.

José Galeote. Former Councillor at Boadilla del Monte (Comm. of Madrid) between 2002 and 2004. In 2009 he resigned from his sinecure as director of the Municipal Land and Housing Company. Accused of bribery, trafficking in influence, tax evasion, illicit association, money laundering and falsifying documentation. He is out on a €1 million bail.

Alfonso Bosch Tejedor. Deputy in the Autonomous Regional parliament. Former Managing Director of the Municipal Land and Housing Company of Boadilla del Monte. Imputed for bribery, Trafficking in influence, tax evasion, illicit association, money laundering and false documentation. Out on €750,000 bail, which he was unable to meet, so had his assets seized.

Ginés López. He resigned as Mayor of Arganda del Rey (Madrid) on March 16, 2009. His bail was set at €1,500,000.

There are several more in this case, all in the same vein and from other parts, particularly from Valencia (lately seen as the most corrupt Council in Spain, a doubtful title), but not enough time to go into detail. Their names: Jesús Sepúlveda, Ricardo Costa,Vicente Rambla, Yolanda García, Pedro García Gimeno, David Serra, Rafael Betoret Parreño, Víctor Campos Guinot, Lola Johnson, José López Jaraba, Luis Redondo y Nuria Romeral.

Fabra Case

<Carlos Fabra. Former President of Castellón, and of the provincial PP. He was sentenced to four years in jail for four counts against the tax laws between 1999 and 2003. He is allegedly the person behind the massive international airport built in Castellón, where, after three years since it was opened, not a single plane (except a two-seater by mistake) has landed until September this year. There is no further news on any more flights.

María Amparo Fernández. Ex wife of Carlos Fabra, also sentenced to two years in jail for tax evasion, and for taking money to hurry paperwork through the Ministries regarding the trade of veterinary products for a company called Naranjax, owned by Vicente Villar, who denounced her.

Cooperation Case

(www.elmundo.es)

<Rafael Blasco. Former Councillor for seven departments in the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencia's equivalent of, say, the Junta de Andalucía, in the Valencian language). Sentenced to 8 years in prison and 20 barred from public office. He was imputed for giving businessman Augusto César Tauroni and the Fundación Cultural y de Estudios Sociales (Cyes), to whom the Generalitat granted €1.8 million, only €43,000 of which ever reached their destination.

Marc Llinares. Ex boss of the Department of Cooperation in the Generalitat, sentenced to four years and one day in prison (In Spain, the one 'extra' day is to ensure the full sentence is carried out.).

Púnica Case

(voz.populi.com)

There were 53 arrested in the largest corruption scandal in Madrid and surrounding area (so far). Among those arrested was the purpoted head of the scheme, Francisco Granados (photo), once the Secretary General of the PP party in the Community of Madrid (2004-2011) and, as Number Two within the Madrid party, had been Councillor for the Presidency (during that of Esperanza Aguirre), for Justice and Interior, and Transport as well as a Senator. Others arrested included six Mayors from the Community of Madrid (Parla, Valdemoro, Torrejón de Velasco, Casarrubuelos, Collado-Villalba and Serranillos del Valle), the Secretary of the Department of Tourism Institute of Murcia, the former Mayors of Cartagena and the President of the Deputación in León, Marcos Martínez, who was ordered to prison without bail recently.; and so was businessman Alejandro de Pedro Llorca.

Several businessmen, allegedly the 'corruptors' were also detained and various offices registered. Among the companies allegedly involved in the scheme is one called Cofely, a subsidiary of GDF Suez, a French company, which supposedly 'arranged' €160 million of the €250 million that had been 'fixed'.

With the arrest of José Martínez Nicolás, Managing Director of the IT and Communications of the Community, the name of another company, Indra, has come to light in this case as another beneficiary.

(Editor's note: we will try to keep you informed of this and as many scandals as possible as news of them appears.)