The auditor Carlos Sáenz would have charged the City Council of San Bartolomé 74,420 euros more than what corresponded to him for his work as auditor in this municipality. This is what the investigating judge of the Montecarlo case, Ricardo Fiestras, maintains in the order in which he concludes the investigation of a piece of the case. This piece investigates the payment of almost 400,000 euros to two companies of José Vicente Montesinos for allegedly unperformed works, but also another possible embezzlement by the auditor, by assigning his own salary and charging "undue compensation".
In his order, the investigating judge recalls that Sáenz has his position as auditor in the City Council of Arrecife, but also held the same position in other councils, such as San Bartolomé, by accumulation of functions. Thus, for that accumulated work "he was entitled to the perception of up to 30% of the remuneration corresponding to the main position", which was that of the capital's City Hall. However, for years he was charging amounts well above that figure, being himself who authorized the payments.
"Since taking office in July 2001, he ordered the staff of his department that no payroll should ever be issued referring to him, so that his remuneration would be paid as if the work performed did not conform to the functional regulations, but as if it were a consultancy and assistance contract," the magistrate argues. Thus, following "his guidelines, in Intervention "the payment orders referring to his services were drawn up without the discounts that every civil servant entails, such as contributions to Social Security, nor the type of personal income tax corresponding to the audit", and he authorized "himself his own payments in amounts higher than those legally corresponding to him".
A situation maintained until his arrest
"Between 2001 and May 2012, the date on which he was arrested, brought to justice and imprisoned preventively for these events", Carlos Sáenz "unduly obtained from the City Council an excess in his remuneration amounting to the amount of 74,420 euros", the investigating judge points out. After the arrest of Sáenz and his entry into prison, San Bartolomé sought a new auditor, so when he left prison, after spending ten months in pre-trial detention, he did not return to this position. However, he did return to the City Council of Arrecife, where he holds the position in property and where he continues to work today.
In addition to being accused in the four pieces of the Montecarlo case, Sáenz is also accused in two pieces of the Unión case. In one of them, for the payment of invoices for allegedly unperformed services to Proselan, the trial has just been held and last week was seen for sentencing. In that case, the Prosecutor's Office is asking for a six-year prison sentence.
As for the piece of Montecarlo in which the investigation has just been closed, Sáenz must also answer for alleged crimes of prevarication, embezzlement and/or fraud, bribery, forgery in public document and forgery in official document, for the alleged looting of almost 400,000 euros in the City Council of San Bartolomé, with payments to the companies of José Vicente Montesinos. This is in addition to the payments that Sáenz authorized for himself.
According to the judge, "with the provisional nature of the present procedural moment, the facts start from the spirit of the auditor of the City Council of San Bartolomé, Carlos Francisco Sáenz Melero, to subtract public funds from that Consistory, taking advantage of the exercise of his position since taking office in it as accumulated auditor in 2001".