Former dana commissioner denies before judge that forged degree in his file is his
José María Ángel appeared before the Valencia judge as an accused and maintained that he learned of the fraudulent diploma in 2015 through the press, attributing it to an attempt to "defame him".
Former dana commissioner testifies before judge over forged degree in his file
Former Government commissioner for the dana José María Ángel denied before the judge on Friday that the forged degree included in his file as a civil servant of the Valencia Provincial Council (Diputación) was his or that he had fabricated it. According to legal sources consulted by ABC, Ángel stated he had no knowledge of how that document could have reached his file and claimed he learned of it through the press. He believes someone wanted to "defame him" and force him to resign.
Ángel appeared for more than an hour as an accused in the criminal case investigating alleged forgery of a public document before the head of the Instruction Section of the Court of First Instance in Valencia, court number 4. In general terms, he reiterated the statement he had already given to the Guardia Civil in October 2025.
He did not respond to questions from the prosecutions—the Provincial Council itself and the PP—but did respond to those from the public prosecutor. The prosecutor focused on a specific episode: in December 2015, Ángel requested that the provincial corporation provide a certificate listing the qualifications that made up his file. The response indicated that he held documents certifying him as a university graduate. Despite this, he did not request that they be withdrawn.
When questioned about why he did not alert to the error at that time, Ángel argued that he understood the reference was to a diploma from Esade. Since he did not use the certificate for any procedure, he stated that he did not attach importance to the matter.
The 69-year-old socialist politician arrived at the Valencia City of Justice an hour before his scheduled midday appointment and left the premises around two in the afternoon. Unwilling to go further "out of respect" for the court, he explained to the media that he felt "very well" and "pleased" with the "excellent" treatment received, and that he had tried to convey "his truth".
A diploma with an impossible date
The document in question certifies him as a graduate in Archival Science and Library Science from the University of Valencia, with a signature dated September 1983. However, the academic institution itself indicated that these studies were not offered until 1990. The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities also confirmed that no higher qualifications for the politician were recorded in its registers. The moment and person who introduced the diploma into Ángel's file are unknown.
In his statement to the Guardia Civil, Ángel maintained that he had never used the document in his working life, that it presented errors—such as the lack of an accent in his surname—and that it was not authenticated. According to his defence, the diploma was irrelevant both to the 1983 civil service examinations and to the 1986 examinations at the Valencia Provincial Council. Since then he held various positions in the corporation in what is now classified as A2 level.
The defence's thesis and that of the investigators
The defence, represented by solicitor Javier Boix, argues that when Ángel advanced in the administration in 1986 no specific qualification was required and that, therefore, the diploma did not influence his pay. The defence is planning to request that various personnel heads from the Provincial Council in recent years appear as witnesses.
The investigators disagree. A February 2026 report prepared by the Economic Crimes Team of the Judicial Police, at the prosecutor's request, indicates that in 1986 Ángel would have benefited from a decree allowing certain civil service examinations to be taken without higher qualifications only by those who had entered the civil service before 1977. Ángel, according to the report, began working in the administration in 1981, so he did not meet that requirement. There is also the circumstance that he himself, together with a colleague, had demanded the call for those restricted examinations.
Resignation and opening of the case
Ángel, mayor of l'Eliana for nearly two decades, resigned on 31 July as Government commissioner for the dana and as president of the PSPV-PSOE after the existence of the forged diploma was confirmed. Since then he has been retired and removed from public life.
The judicial case was opened in August 2025 following a complaint from Manos Limpias, an organisation that was subsequently removed from the proceedings for failing to lodge the required bond. The prosecution, however, had already been investigating since May of that year after receiving a report from the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, material that forms part of the case file.
The judge initially dismissed the proceedings on the grounds that the alleged document forgery was time-barred due to having been committed three decades ago. The Third Section of the Provincial Court reopened it after noting that the accused had requested extensions to continue in service in 2023 and 2024. The magistrates stressed that each time a civil servant requests an extension "they must allege that they meet the capability requirements that at the time empowered them to apply for the position in which they wish to continue".
The Valencia Provincial Council puts at around 160,000 euros the amount Ángel would have received during the years in which he supposedly held a level that did not correspond to him.
In parallel, according to advance reporting by Las Provincias, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has opened an investigation into the former position of his wife, fellow socialist Carmen Ninet, now retired, who served as deputy director of the Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity (MuVIM), managed by the same provincial council.
Source: ABC