Soria councillor released under judicial supervision following municipal corruption investigation
Yolanda Santos, tourism councillor at Soria Town Hall, regained her freedom after spending a night in custody in an operation investigating alleged corruption offences at the council.
Soria councillor released under judicial supervision following municipal corruption investigation
The official responsible for tourism and environmental affairs at the Soria council regained her freedom on Wednesday after remaining under arrest during the previous night at Guardia Civil facilities. The judge imposed a requirement to report to the court every two weeks, whilst the other six people arrested in the same operation were released without obligations, though they must attend when required.
The investigation, coordinated by Court Number 3 of First Instance in the city and the provincial Public Prosecutor's Office, began on Tuesday with a search of municipal offices that lasted more than ten hours. Officers gathered documentation and, as a consequence of the initial inquiries, six arrests were made—two of them in the Spanish capital—and two searches of private residences were carried out.
The offences being investigated range from bribery and misconduct in office to prohibited negotiations by public officials, falsification of documents, money laundering and criminal organisation. Although the case remains under secrecy of investigation, initial information points to possible irregularities in the contracting of a company called Biosfera, in which the councillor herself reportedly had some form of involvement.
The person under investigation occupied fourth place on the socialist electoral list for the last local elections, headed by Carlos Martínez, who led the city from 2007 until April of this year, when he left office to join the Regional Parliament as opposition spokesperson. The councillor has been part of the municipal executive during several terms.
The local socialist party has decided to provisionally suspend her membership and open an internal investigation. The council itself has agreed to temporarily remove her from her duties and is considering intervening in the process as an interested party.
The former mayor, who was in Tangier when the operation was launched, issued a statement in which he claimed to be "completely calm" regarding the judicial inquiries and requested "respect" and "prudence" given the secrecy of the investigation.
Source: ABC
Source: ABC