The case against the former mayor of Yaiza, José Francisco Reyes, has led the investigation to also trace the assets of his children and his wife, who were arrested on September 30 and subsequently released. All of them are charged with money laundering. One of his daughters, Noelia, was arrested in Barcelona, where she resides, and was questioned by the Investigating Court Number 4 of the capital city. Reyes' daughter received income worth more than 215,000 euros in four years, which she obtained "from the help of her parents and her work activity", for which she receives 1,100 euros per month, according to her statement to the judge.
In her testimony, Noelia Reyes stated that she has an account at Bancaja, of which she is a joint holder along with her father and it is with this account that she pays the mortgage on her apartment in Barcelona. The income reflected in cash in this account of the former vice president of the PNL's daughter amounts to approximately more than 150,000 euros which, according to her, were deposited by herself and her father.
Specifically, between November 2005 and July 2009, the Udyco detected a series of cash deposits, "about 34", for this amount. What most caught the attention of the investigators is a payment made in cash by deposit into this account of 100,000 euros made on November 29, 2005, "which appears to have no known origin and appears to have been made by herself". During her statement, Noelia assured that "she would not know how to answer" who made the deposit, nor for what reason, nor where she obtained the money.
Another bank account
Likewise, Noelia also has another account at La Caixa, with income exceeding 35,000 euros, which she carried out herself and "her parents to cover the expenses of housing and maintenance during her stay in Barcelona", according to her testimony. In addition, she has another account at La Caja General de Ahorros de Canarias, which she used when she lived in Tenerife, and whose value amounts to 10,000 euros. "These deposits were made by her parents, who covered the expenses of studies, housing and maintenance for her and her sister" Beatriz.
In this way, José Francisco Reyes' daughter had to respond "to the more than 630,000 euros" that the family would have moved in cash, without supposedly being able to justify the origin of that money. The report of the Unit against Organized Crime (Udyco) and the result of the search carried out on Wednesday, September 30 in the homes of the former mayor of Yaiza and his children, and even in the family yacht docked in the Marina Rubicón marina, would have uncovered a significant amount of purchases and investments made in a few years by Reyes and his family. For example, purchases for significant amounts that were made in cash, without an extraction of money being recorded on those same dates in any of the family's bank accounts.
Money under suspicion
Thus, the investigation would have been able to determine that these expenses amount to about 700,000 euros in a period of six years, and especially concentrated in three or four, which would represent a substantial basis for the case.
Noelia was also asked about the nearly 500,000 euros that supposedly appear reflected in cash in the current accounts of herself and her siblings, but indicated that "she would not know how to answer", just as she did not confirm that it was her father who provided said money to the entire family.
The interrogation of José Francisco Reyes' daughter also focused on the purchase of two homes that were made during this time in Barcelona and La Laguna, Tenerife. Noelia owns a penthouse where she lives in Barcelona, located on Espronceda Street, and was a co-owner of an apartment in La Laguna, although this property currently belongs to her sister Beatriz.
Low-wage earner in Barcelona
Noelia arrived in Barcelona five years ago, where she works as a graphic designer in a company. She receives a monthly salary of 1,100 euros. She lives with her partner, an electronics technician who repairs photocopiers, and who has a similar income to his girlfriend. However, Noelia acquired a home on December 13, 2005, which cost her 375,000 euros, of which 68,000 euros would have been paid prior to signing the public deed of sale, according to the order of the Investigating Court Number 2 of Arrecife, which is investigating this case. According to Noelia, this amount of money had been given to her by her father, as well as a little more than 12,000 euros, which were used for the initial payment of the house. Reyes' daughter indicated in her interrogation that she does not know where her father obtained said amount of money.
Noelia pays 1,200 euros per month for her mortgage, despite the fact that her income is less than that amount. According to what she stated, she has been sharing an apartment with her partner for three years and, therefore, they also face the expenses together. In addition, according to what she stated, her father "helps her". "Said help consists of a delivery of between 1,000 and 2,000 euros, not every month, one month yes and another no", is included in the statement.
House in La Laguna
Years before, in 2000, she acquired a property in La Laguna together with her sister Beatriz. According to the order of the Court of Arrecife, the house cost a little more than 55,000 euros, of which a little more than 12,000 euros would have been paid in cash by Noelia and Beatriz prior to the granting of the deed. At that time, neither of the two sisters had a job and, specifically, Beatriz is registered for the first time in Social Security in 2003, while Noelia was registered in 2005.
In her statement, Reyes' daughter denied that she owns financial products in the Republic of Argentina and said that she was not aware that her father "has benefited from his position as mayor of Yaiza". In addition, she pointed out that she does not know if the money that her father gave her "had an illegal origin".