San Fulgencio Mayor accused of misuse of public funds

Payments of 190,000 euros have been made to a San Fulgencio football club

In the case involving Carlos Ramírez, the Mayor of San Fulgencio in the Vega Baja area of the province of Alicante, the public prosecutor’s office is demanding that he be banned from holding public office for nine San Fulgencio Mayor accused of misuse of public funds years for allegedly diverting public funds into a football club owned by one of his political colleagues.

Also named in the case are Pascual Sempere and Antonio Irles, who were on the PP’s electoral lists when Sr Ramírez became Mayor in 2011, and the latter formed the Club de Fútbol Sporting San Fulgencio as a non-profit-making entity on 18th July that year.

A few months later the football club requested a 100% subsidy from the Mayor in order to finance sports classes in the municipality, and was subsequently awarded the contract to run the municipal sports school for one year. No remuneration was specified in the contract, but the company which had previously performed the same role had been paid 73,000 euros per year.

Since then the contract with the football club has remained in place, and a total of 190,000 euros had reportedly been received by September 2014, again according to the prosecution. Should they be found guilty, Sr Sempere and Sr Irles could also be barred from holding public office.