EMPHASIZES THE NEED TO "GUARANTEE THE COLLECTION OF POSSIBLE COMPENSATION"

The Court confirms the 272 million bonds imposed on Déniz, Camero and 15 other defendants

Rejects the appeals filed by the former mayor, the former secretary and eight other defendants and points out that they should not even have been admitted for processing. In addition, it points out that the trial is "very close in time"

June 28 2017 (21:29 WEST)
The Court confirms the 272 million bail imposed on Déniz, Camero and 15 other defendants
The Court confirms the 272 million bail imposed on Déniz, Camero and 15 other defendants

The Second Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas has rejected the appeals filed by 10 defendants in the Unión case and by the company Fomento Construcciones y Contratas and has confirmed the bonds imposed by the investigating judge, Silvia Muñoz. In the order to open the oral trial of that piece, arising from Operation Jable, the magistrate demanded a total of 272 million in bonds from the 17 defendants, in a measure that has now been ratified by the Court.

Among the defendants who appealed were the former secretary of the Arrecife City Council, Felipe Fernández Camero, the former mayor, María Isabel Déniz, her husband, José Domingo Abreut - who must respond in this case as a participant for lucrative purposes - as well as Dimas Martín's right-hand man, Matías Curbelo, and the Cabildo's Classified Activities technician, Manuel Jesús Isidro Spínola. They were joined by appeals from several directors of the companies involved in this part of the case, Urbaser, FCC and Gamma Instal, such as Rafael Antonio Corujo Gil, Daniel Hernández Caraballo, Enrique José Hernández Martín, Enrique Astorga and Julio Romero.

"It is evident that in reality all the appellants are aware that the order to open the oral trial does not admit appeal except in relation to the personal situation and it is also evident, in our opinion, that the bonds to ensure eventual civil liabilities do not have that nature," states the order of the Provincial Court, dated June 23. Thus, it concludes that these appeals should not even have been admitted for processing, since only issues such as the provisional deprivation of liberty of some defendant, which no longer occurs in this case, could have been appealed.

 

"They intend to evade what was ordered by the legislator"


"All these allegations do nothing more than evade what was ordered in its day by the legislator," the order emphasizes, in reference to the arguments raised by the defenses to try to have their appeals upheld, despite the fact that the bonds established in the order to open the oral trial are not appealable. In this regard, it recalls that they were able to appeal the Abbreviated Procedure order, which is the one that puts an end to the investigation, where they had the opportunity to raise all the "considerations they deem appropriate regarding the existence of indications of criminal responsibility and regarding the damages suffered by the injured parties."

To this, the Court adds that "the effective holding of the oral trial is presumably very close in time, at which time it would be convenient for all issues related to the solvency or insolvency of those who would have to respond with all their assets for the damages caused by the crime" to be resolved, as well as "the judicial actions aimed at guaranteeing the collection of possible future compensation."

Regarding the holding of the trial, as La Voz already advanced this Tuesday, the Investigating Court has just ordered the referral of the case to the Provincial Court, after receiving all the defense briefs, so it is only pending assignment of section and setting the date for holding the hearing.

 

Bonds of more than 25 million for some defendants


Regarding the amount of the bonds that the investigating judge had set last January, when ordering the opening of the oral trial, they total more than 272 million euros. In the case of the former mayor of Arrecife, María Isabel Déniz; of the former head of the Technical Office, Rafael Arrocha; and of his partner in companies such as Gamma Instal and Cabildo Classified Activities technician, Manuel Jesús Isidro Spínola, they had to deposit more than 25 million euros each, to cover the eventual conviction of fine and civil liability. 

Arrocha's other partner, Julio Romero, was required to post a bond of more than 24 million euros, while two other people linked to those companies, Daniel Hernández Caraballo and Rafael Antonio Corujo Gil, had to hand over more than 13 million each. As for the former secretary of the City Council, Felipe Fernández Camero, a bond of more than 13 million euros was set for him, as was the historical leader of the PIL, Dimas Martín. A similar amount had to be delivered or guaranteed by Dimas' right-hand man, Matías Curbelo, and the former socialist leader Miguel Ángel Leal.

Regarding the directors of Urbarser accused, Francisco José Martínez Llerandi, Stephan Jean Balverde, Santiago Alonso and Manuel Martínez, all had to respond for bonds of between 13.1 and 13.8 million euros. For their part, those of Fomento Construcciones y Contratas, Enrique Astorga and Enrique José Hernández, had to deposit almost 11.8 million, with the companies having to respond in their case, as subsidiary civil liable parties, if they did not secure that money.

For the partners of María Isabel Déniz and Dimas Martín, José Domingo Abreut and Elena Martín, the magistrate demanded a bond for the amounts from which they benefited, and which their partners obtained allegedly illicitly. In the case of José Domingo Abreut, the judge demanded a bond of 325,484 euros, while Elena Martín had to guarantee 14,812 euros.

 

Properties seized due to non-payment


Even before that last order to open the oral trial was issued, the investigating judge had already imposed bonds on the defendants, although of a lower amount, since the accusation briefs, which set the economic responsibility required of each one, had not yet been presented. However, despite the fact that the first amounts were lower, defendants such as María Isabel Déniz and Dimas Martín did not hand over the money either, which led the judge, in June 2016, to order seizures on several properties. 

María Isabel Déniz was notified on March 23, 2016 that she had 3 days to deposit nearly 1.8 million euros, to which she limited herself to responding that "she was aware and did not want to say anything else." As of May 24, she had not covered that amount, so the Court decided in a first decree to seize a Honda motorcycle  and a Mercedes, in addition to half of a 188-square-meter house on Playa Honda Avenue and a 105-meter warehouse-parking lot in Teguise, whose ownership she shares with her husband. 

After continuing to make "inquiries" about Déniz's "property" to "guarantee" that she complied with her "responsibilities", the Court ordered new seizures on another house in Playa Honda, with 170 meters built and another 64 of "gardens and green areas", a "warehouse and a room" in La Graciosa of 180 meters, and a rustic property of 12,000 square meters in the Montaña de Las Nieves, all shared with her husband. Finally, the Court decreed that the "proportional part" of her salary as a secondary school teacher be seized, depending on the limits that appear for this in the Ministry of Education.

For his part, Dimas Martín was notified on the same day as Déniz, on March 23, that he had three days to deposit, in his case, 240,000 euros. However, he stated to the Court "that he does not have the means to provide the required bond", and he did not cover the amount that was requested. Thus, Investigating Court Number 5 ordered the seizure of the assets it found in his name: five rustic properties located in the municipality of Teguise with a total area of more than 11,500 square meters. It should be remembered that in another part of the Unión case, which is the only one being investigated in another court and which remains open, the historical leader of the PIL is charged with alleged crimes of money laundering and punishable insolvency, having used alleged front men to hide his true assets

Most read