The businessmen José Francisco Riquelme and Félix Leceta have testified this Tuesday before the new judge of the Investigating Court Number 2 of Arrecife, Leticia Mateo, in the case of the alleged plot for the granting of illegal licenses in Playa Blanca, which began in 2007. Although both have denied the accusations against them, the judge has maintained the charges for alleged crimes of bribery after taking their statements.
The first to testify was Riquelme, representative of the Papagayo Arena hotel and one of the businessmen accused by the former mayor of Yaiza, José Francisco Reyes, when after his arrest he confessed to having received money in exchange for the granting of licenses. A month after Reyes' statement, which he later retracted, Riquelme was summoned to testify along with the rest of the businessmen pointed out by the former mayor of Yaiza, but he did not appear in the Arrecife Courts, alleging health problems.
Almost a year after that first summons, which occurred on November 4, 2009, José Francisco Riquelme, a historical figure of the PSOE of the Valencian Community, has had to appear before the new magistrate and the prosecutor, Ignacio Stampa. Riquelme's statement began around 9.30 am and lasted until 11.15 am.
At the time, Reyes had stated before the previous magistrate of this Court, María Dolores García Benítez, that Riquelme gave him "cash". In addition, he pointed out that the payments were made after receiving the licenses, "in gratitude for the procedures that were carried out". However, he later retracted and said that he had invented it to "save his family", who had been arrested and charged with money laundering after the police investigation that tracked the assets of Reyes and his environment, finding significant sums of money of allegedly illicit origin.
The other statement
After a break of about five minutes, the judge took a statement from the businessman Félix Leceta, related to several companies that built in the Playa Blanca partial plan. His summons arises from the statement of a witness who denounced him and two other businessmen, assuring that they had given Reyes 500,000 euros to grant them several urban planning licenses.
Leceta has also been practically two hours, until 1.30 pm, giving a statement in the Arrecife Courts. The statements will continue on Thursday and it will be the turn of the other two businessmen, also charged with bribery. These are José Ramón Olaberría and Ricardo Sánchez Armendáriz.
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