AC FILES COMPLAINT WITH THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE REGARDING THE AGREEMENT FOR THE ARRECIFE TAPAS FAIRS

AC files complaint with the Prosecutor's Office regarding the agreement for the Arrecife Tapas Fairs

Accuses the mayor, two councilors, and the president of Celanz of alleged crimes of embezzlement, fraud, document forgery, illicit association, and prevarication?

November 12 2014 (12:33 WET)
AC reports the agreement for the Arrecife Tapas Fairs to the Prosecutor's Office
AC reports the agreement for the Arrecife Tapas Fairs to the Prosecutor's Office

Alternativa Ciudadana filed a complaint this Tuesday with the Prosecutor's Office against the mayor of Arrecife, Manuel Fajardo Feo, the Councilor for Commerce, Rafael Juan González, the Councilor for Finance, María Teresa Lorenzo, and the president of the Association for the Development of Citizens and Businesses of Lanzarote (Celanz), Antonio Rojas, for alleged crimes of embezzlement, fraud against the administration, document forgery, illicit association, and prevarication, for the agreement signed between the City Council and this association for the promotion of the tapas fairs that have been held in the capital.

Among other things, AC questions that the agreement states that "in no case will it entail any cost for the City Council", when the truth is that Arrecife allocates "a minimum of 20,000 euros" to the organization and execution of each of these fairs. And according to Alternativa Ciudadana, adding up the ten fairs held, the figure would exceed 200,000 euros, although it denounces that so far it has not been able to get the government group to hand over the complete list of the money spent.

Although the agreement with Celanz is an agreement "for the joint promotion" of these fairs, AC considers that "document forgery" has occurred by stating that it will not entail a cost for the City Council, despite the fact that it commits to covering all the organization's expenses. Furthermore, it criticizes that the agreement gives Celanz the power to decide which companies can participate in the fair, as it establishes that participants must belong to this association.

"That violates constitutional rights," said Councilor Blanca Blancas during the press conference in which they presented this complaint. She argues that "no one can be forced to join an association", nor can they benefit from belonging to it.

 

Using public land "for free"


In its complaint, Alternativa Ciudadana also questions that the City Council is not charging the companies that participate in the tapas fair for the occupation of public land, which they understand could constitute a crime of embezzlement of public funds. Councilor Domingo García also pointed out that the association could be charging companies "without knowing how much or where the money is going", although he later clarified, when asked by journalists, that he only has "evidence" of this because he had heard "someone on a radio saying that they were paying 150 euros".

Regarding the Celanz association, the AC councilors have also questioned that it was created "to give a semblance of legality" to what was already being done with the tapas fair before the signing of the agreement. According to Alternativa, the first fairs were held before this agreement existed, but people who are now in Celanz, and not the City Council, were "the ones who decided who set up stalls and who stopped setting them up".

Later, when this party had already begun to question the holding of these events, AC maintains that this association was formed, with the agreement with the City Council being signed last May.

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