The Second Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas sentenced former mayor of Arrecife Isabel Déniz (2000-2007) and former council secretary Felipe Fernández Camero in January 2024 to more than ten years in prison for their involvement in the Jable case, the largest corruption scheme in the Canary Islands. In the court ruling there were seven other convicts. However, none of them has yet been imprisoned.
A year and almost ten months later, the appeals filed by the convicts have not yet reached the Supreme Court and are pending completion of the signature of all the magistrates of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas in order to be sent to the High Court.
Operation Jable was named by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) and called the most complex judicial case in the Canary Islands due to its extension and volume. This plot arose after finding irregularities in the tenders awarded to the companies Urbaser and Fomento Construcción y Contratas (FCC) in the garbage contract of the Arrecife City Council during the mandate of Déniz and the construction of the controversial Argana pavilion, respectively. It should be remembered that this pavilion is still closed to the public.
The National Court already issued a clarification order in May 2024 to respond to the claims of Felipe Fernández Camero and Isabel Déniz, who tried to get a reduction of sentence for having deposited money in the judicial deposit before the hearing. In that resolution, the Court dismissed the requests of both and stated that Camero "was part of the largest corruption scheme that the Canary archipelago has suffered" and that he continued his "criminal activity to obtain greater profits".
The judgment of the Provincial Court considers it proven that Isabel Déniz, as mayor of Arrecife, together with Dimas Martín, as leader of the Party of Independents of Lanzarote (PIL), agreed with the then municipal secretary Fernández Camero and the head of the Technical Office of the council Rafael Arrocha to award the garbage tender of the City Council to the company Tecmed, currently known as Urbaser.
During her time as mayor, Isabel Déniz received bribes in the form of "details and gifts" from some companies that worked with the city council worth 45,000 euros. Among them, trips to Madrid, Tanzania or Kenya, a Loewe bag or a Rolex. During her trip to Kenya and Tanzania she also traveled with the then municipal secretary Fernández Camero and his partner.
Camero received a pen of 765 euros and an envelope of 14,000 euros. Meanwhile, the then head of the Technical Office of the Arrecife City Council Rafael Arrocha, charged 180,000 euros in cash and trips to Madrid, among other gifts.
More than ten years in prison for Déniz and Camero
Isabel Déniz was sentenced by the Provincial Court of Las Palmas to ten and a half years in prison, a fine of 282,000 euros and disqualification from holding public office for 42 years for five different crimes. Among them, two crimes of bribery, two of prevarication, and one of fraud against the administration.
Along with her, Felipe Fernández Camero was sentenced to ten years and three months in prison for the crimes of fraud, bribery, disclosure of secrets and infidelity in the custody of public documents. In his case, the Court imposed an economic sanction of 32,837.76 euros and thirty years of disqualification from holding any public office. To which is added the confiscation of 14,000 euros that were delivered to him by the heads of Urbaser Manuel Andrés Martínez, Santiago Alonso Herreros and Jacinto Álvarez de la Fuente.
The then head of the Technical Office of the Arrecife City Council Rafael Arrocha was sentenced to five years in prison, as well as a fine of 100,000 euros and disqualification from holding public office for 25 years and eight months.
The multi-convicted Dimas Martín, historic former leader of the Party of Independents of Lanzarote (PIL), was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, a fine of 72,000 euros and disqualification for twelve years for the crimes of fraud against the administration and bribery. In his case, he incurred the mitigating factor of having confessed that he received 72,000 euros for mediating to get Urbaser awarded the garbage contract of the Arrecife City Council. In addition to the mitigating circumstance of undue delays and the aggravating circumstance of recidivism in the crime of bribery.
Sentences to former executives of Urbaser and FCC
Meanwhile, the former executives of Urbaser Manuel Andrés Martínez and Santiago Alonso reached an agreement with the Chamber after confessing the facts and were sentenced to two years in prison for the commission of the crimes of fraud, bribery, use of privileged information and falsehood committed by a public official. In addition to more than 110,000 euros in fines, two years of disqualification and the payment of part of the court costs.
In this sense, the manager of Urbaser in Lanzarote, Jacinto Álvarez, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.
To which were added the convictions of those responsible for the construction company FCC. In the first place, Francisco Martínez Llerandi, was sentenced to one year in prison, another of disqualification to hold any public office, a fine of 55,000 euros and the payment of part of the court costs. In addition to Enrique José Hernández, who has been sentenced to one year and three months in prison, disqualification for passive suffrage for the time of the sentence, a fine of 16,674.11 euros and special disqualification.
José Domingo Abreut must pay 141,000 euros as responsible for lucrative title.
Acquitted
Finally, the Chamber acquitted Enrique Astorga González, Manuel Jesús Isidro Espínola, Julio Pedro Romero, Daniel Hernández Caraballo, Rafael Antonio Corujo, Miguel Ángel Leal and Stephan Jean Balverde of all the crimes of which they had been accused and has declared the costs ex officio. In addition, the Provincial Court has also acquitted Elena Martín, Urbaser S.A. and F.C.C. Construccióon S.A. who were listed as participants for lucrative title.