• Urban corruption Prison without bail for the former subdelegate of the Government and the former vice mayor of Valencia accused of participating in a "criminal group"

The second phase of the

Azud operation

, an alleged plot of urban corruption, is still underway: the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard (UCO) continues to carry out records, one of them in the Urban Planning Department of the Valencia City Council, and they have taken different letters rogatory to look for money abroad.

As sources familiar with the procedure have informed Europa Press, the UCO continues on Monday the searches in search of more evidence and documentation after last Thursday it arrested a total of 14 people in the framework of this case, including the former deputy delegate of the Government in Valencia

Rafael Rubio

(PSPV) and the former vice mayor of the Valencia City Council

Alfonso Grau

(PP). In addition, different letters rogatory have been processed since it is suspected that some of those arrested could hide money abroad.

Precisely this last indication is one for which the Examining Court number 13 of Valencia, in charge of the case, decreed on Saturday the

provisional prison

for five of the 14 detainees: Rubio, Grau and three businessmen, among them,

Jaime Febrer

.

Another argument that justified the admission to jail was the destruction of evidence or the risk of escape.

The other eight detainees who were brought to justice on Saturday - only one of them, the former mayor of Xixona, did not - were released with the withdrawal of passports, a ban on leaving the country and weekly appearances in court.

None of those arrested wanted to testify before the judge, as Europa Press has learned.

Only the legal head of Divalterra,

José Luis Vera

, wanted to testify before the Civil Guard, but halfway through the testimony he interrupted him and took advantage of his right to say nothing more. Regarding the records, the vice mayor of Valencia and mayor of Urban Development and Renovation in the city, Sandra Gómez, has confirmed at a press conference that one has taken place in the urban planning service of the Valencian town hall located in the municipal building of Tabacalera.

"Yes, it is in line with the operations" that are being investigated in the Azud case, he has stated, while recalling that the consistory had already sealed documentation after the first first of this case began. "It must be remembered that in 2018 we were sealed with documentation for the Azud operation. I reiterate, this was known to be underway and there is documentation sealed in the Valencia City Council for three years. I suppose that it will have been what they have taken", has stated.

In the case, declared secret,

crimes of prevarication, bribery, document falsification, money laundering, influence peddling, illicit association and criminal group

are investigated

. So far, 46 registrations have been made in companies, professional offices and private homes in the provinces of Valencia, Alicante, Ciudad Real and Madrid. The judicial proceedings already add up to about fifty investigated.

Rubio (PSPV), who was also a provincial deputy and socialist spokesman in the Valencia City Council, and Grau (PP), are accused of charging bribes in exchange for infrastructure awards. Specifically, Grau could have taken a million euros and Rubio another 300,000. Rubio and Grau have other legal proceedings. The socialist is prosecuted in one of the pieces of the Imelsa case in which allegedly irregular hiring is investigated in the public companies of Imelsa and Ciegsa.

For his part, Alfonso Grau, 80, was sentenced to four years in prison - a sentence ratified by the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) - for accepting luxury watches from a City Council contractor, exchanging them for more expensive ones and pay the difference. It is also being investigated in the Imelsa case. This is the second phase of the Azud case, in which the Examining Court number 13 of València investigates the possible collection of illegal commissions related to urban operations and contract awards in the Valencia City Council, other consistories of the Valencian Community and various state and local public entities.

The bulk of the investigations focuses on the period between 2004 and 2011. In the first phase of the procedure, lawyer José María Corbín, Barberá's brother-in-law, and lawyer Diego Elum were arrested, although later both were released with measures .

Along with them, Corbín's wife and daughters appear as investigated.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • UCO

  • PP

  • Valencia

  • Real city

  • Madrid

  • Alfonso Grau

  • Alicante

  • Sandra Gomez

  • Civil Guard

  • Justice

  • Operation Taula

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Valencian Community Prison without bail for the former subdelegate of the Government and the former vice mayor of Valencia accused of participating in a "criminal group" of urban corruption

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