The Vox municipal group in the Valencia City Council has not justified or accounted for part of the public subsidy received for the development of the work of its councilors, as stated by the municipal auditor in a report. The amount amounts to around 74% of what they had to justify and for which they have not presented invoices that validate those expenses. This was reported this Friday by the socialist spokesperson in the Valencian council, Sandra Gómez, who has announced that they will bring the facts to the attention of the Prosecutor's Office regarding the possible commission of an alleged electoral crime and embezzlement, since the public money was received in pre-election period.
The “missing” amount amounts to 16,874 euros. To the fact that this expense has not been justified, the auditor adds that part of it has not been accounted for either, that is, that the far-right party did not include it in its accounts despite having received it from the public coffers through a transfer. : “From the annual financial statements presented by the Political Groups regarding the period of time between January 1 and June 16, 2023, both inclusive, it is clear that, after analyzing in detail each of the “entries” that appear in The accounts presented by said Groups are generally duly accounted for, except for the Vox Municipal Group,” the auditor's report states.
According to a plenary agreement adopted by the City Council in 2018, “the Plenary City Council has regulated that municipal political groups must present supporting documents proving the expenses for the amounts received as financial allocation for the operation of the activities of the political groups.” In his report, the auditor points out that “inherent in the plenary agreement is that legal effects are derived in the event of non-compliance.” And he demands the refund of the amount: “Given the subsidy nature of the funds, the implicit legal effect is that of refund of unjustified amounts.”
The socialist spokesperson explained that the auditor's warning was passed this Thursday by the Finance Commission and this Friday by the Board of Spokespersons, so the mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, who has the Vox councilors as government partners , is aware of “these irregularities” and is “obliged to demand the replacement of public money and to bring it to the attention of the Court of Auditors.” However, the spokesperson for the municipal government, the popular Juan Carlos Caballero, has not advanced the PP's position and has indicated that it is an issue that will be discussed in plenary.
For its part, through a statement collected by Europa Press, Vox has assured that in the coming days they will return the 17,000 euros of “mismatch” in their municipal subsidy. The group admits that they have stopped justifying that money “but it is for the simple reason that this money has not been spent and is in the group's current account and in cash.”
The accounting of the Vox municipal group in the Valencia City Council was already the origin of a complaint filed by one of its councilors, Vicente Montañez, who went to the Prosecutor's Office last May to denounce the party for the alleged crimes of “illegal financing.” of political parties, documentary falsification, prevarication, embezzlement, coercion and criminal organization.” Montañez then explained that he had provided documentation issued by the different organs of the party about the “systematic intervention” of eight national deputies “in what apparently and according to the evidence we are considering could be a real network aimed at emptying the coffers of the municipal groups.”
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According to the socialist Borja Sanjuán, the far-right party is out of time to justify the expenses and must return the money. He has also pointed out that, even so, a possible crime committed would not disappear even with the return of public money. For this reason, the socialists will inform the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Account of Vox's unjustified expenditure: “We do not know where it is, they have not been able to justify what they have spent it on and it coincides with an electoral period,” he indicated. Sanjuán who has stated that it is “very clear” what the money of the municipal groups has to be used for and it cannot be to finance electoral campaigns. “Every day that passes without María José Catalá asking for reimbursement, he is collaborating so that 17,000 euros of Valencians remain unaccounted for after passing through the hands of Vox,” he lamented.
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