The Marina Rubicón Sports Port, which for years did not charge José Francisco Reyes' family yacht for docking, is now demanding 8,353 euros (almost one and a half million of the old pesetas) for the last twelve months, as "the debt that has been generated since the judicial sealing of the vessel". This is stated in a letter sent to Court Number 2 of Arrecife, in which they respond to the requirement in which the magistrate ordered them to take the vessel out of the water to preserve its conservation while it remains sealed.
In that response, the legal representatives of Marina Rubicón maintain that "proceeding to beach the vessel El Pachi in the terms stated in the requirement" is "absolutely impossible" for them. To begin with, due to logistical problems: "It is impossible for the port operators to proceed with the transfer of the vessel because the keys to it are not available for its start-up, making it unfeasible, given the characteristics of El Pachi (length and beam) to proceed with its towing", they allege in their writing.
But in any case, they also make it clear that this is not the only reason. The rest focuses mainly on the economic chapter. And they argue that to get the boat out of the water it would be necessary to use a crane "of considerable dimensions", with the "cost" that this entails, to which must be added the "expenses for stay or stranding" during the time it remains there. "We do not know who is responsible for the payment or how it will be paid", they raise from the ownership of Marina Rubicón, which adds that they will also have "a loss of income" by not being able to use that space "to beach boats of third parties".
Thus, they ask the Court who is the depositary of the vessel, "if one has been designated", and ask it to require him to "assume the responsibilities inherent to it, prior payment of the costs involved in the stranding operation" and pay "the debt that has been generated since the judicial sealing, and whose amount amounts to 8,353.80 euros", although they do not clarify in what concepts. In the same letter, they point out that the mooring costs at sea amount to 336.3 euros per month (997.04 euros if it were to be in a shipyard), which multiplied by the just over twelve months that it has been sealed, would amount to about 4,000 euros.
El Pachi no longer energizes
In addition, Marina Rubicón asks the Court to "adopt whatever measures are necessary to prevent the vessel El Pachi from remaining in the Sports Port". And they argue that "it is generating considerable damage to the corporate image, especially if one takes into account that it is not the only vessel judicially sealed that is making use of moorings within the port".
Thus, they make it clear that they no longer want to know anything about a vessel that for years remained in Marina Rubicón without paying for mooring, supposedly because then they understood that it helped to "energize" the port. At least, that was what the port manager, Rafael Lasso Lorenzo, declared when he had to testify as a witness in the "Reyes case" and explain what this benefit to the family of the former mayor of Yaiza was due to.
After his statement, the three owners of Marina Rubicón became charged in this process for alleged crimes of bribery. Juan Francisco Rosa, Francisco Armas and Rafael Lasso had to answer before the judge and the Public Prosecutor, who consider that the money that Reyes' family saved with the mooring of El Pachi could have been part of alleged gifts in exchange for the granting of illegal licenses.
In his statement before the judge, Juan Francisco Rosa stated that there was an agreement with El Pachi by which he did not pay for the mooring, but paid a fee based on the number of clients, "which favors the image of the port, taking into account the situation, and promotes activity in it". However, José Francisco Reyes himself acknowledged in court that the activity of the vessel was minimal. Specifically, he stated that his son was not doing "very well with the boat" and that "he practically only works in summer, in regattas and in their durations".
According to the investigation, the company's accounts reflect that for at least three years there was no movement of passengers. In fact, between 2005 and 2009, the vessel would have paid Marina Rubicón, under that agreement, a figure similar to what the mooring of a single month costs. That is, about 50 times less than what other vessels pay.
One year of embargo
The vessel El Pachi, which is in the name of José Francisco Reyes' son, through the company Sea Sun Lanzarote, was sealed on September 30, 2009, when the former mayor of Yaiza, his wife and three of his children were arrested. Recently, the defense of José Francisco Abel Reyes requested that the embargo be lifted, but the judge rejected the petition. However, she did order the Marina Rubicón sports port to take the boat out of the water to prevent its deterioration, as that was one of the reasons given by Reyes' son to request that this measure be suspended.
The investigation opened five years ago by the alleged plot for the massive granting of illegal licenses in Playa Blanca maintains that both this yacht and other assets owned by the family were obtained in an allegedly illegal manner, with money that the former mayor would have allegedly received in exchange for the granting of those licenses.
Among the crimes that Reyes is charged with is that of money laundering, of which his wife and children are also accused, for their alleged participation in giving the appearance of lawful origin to that money. Among other things, through purchases such as that of the vessel "El Pachi", for which 127,000 euros were paid in cash, in several installments.
According to the report carried out by the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (until a few years ago known as Udyco), which tracked the assets of Reyes and his environment, the family would have made purchases and economic movements worth hundreds of thousands of euros, with money of unknown origin.
