Prosecutors seek up to 12 years in prison for León mining businessmen for defrauding €2.1 million
The Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting sentences of between 7.5 and 12 years for five businessmen from Hullera Vasco-Leonesa, PEAL and Reminsa for fraud against the Public Treasury.
Trial in León for million-euro fraud in coal subsidies
The Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting prison sentences of between seven and a half and twelve years for five businessmen linked to mining in León, according to ABC. The accused—three from Hullera Vasco-Leonesa and two from subcontractors PEAL and Reminsa—are alleged to have defrauded 2.1 million euros in public subsidies by passing coal from open-pit mines off as coal extracted from underground mines.
The final hearing of the trial took place this Tuesday at the Provincial Court of León. Both the Public Prosecutor's Office and the State Legal Service considered it proven that the businessmen presented coal from open-pit deposits as underground coal, which allowed them to receive subsidies five times higher than those corresponding to surface extraction.
Sentences requested and defence position
For the three businessmen from Hullera Vasco-Leonesa, the Public Prosecutor's Office is seeking twelve years in prison as principal perpetrators of the facts. The two executives from PEAL face seven and a half years for being considered necessary accomplices. The defence has requested acquittal for all the accused. A sixth defendant who was also part of the proceedings has died recently.
The charges include a crime against the Public Treasury and falsity in mercantile documents. The State Legal Service summarised the scheme directly: the businessmen took coal from external mines and registered it as underground mineral to multiply the amount of subsidies received.
The facts: Santa Lucía de Gordón, between 2011 and 2014
The investigated facts extend between 2011 and 2014, a period in which Hullera Vasco-Leonesa received subsidies for coal extraction from underground at the Santa Lucía de Gordón mine in the province of León. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the State Legal Service, the mineral declared as underground actually came from open-pit mines. The difference in subsidies was decisive: subsidies for underground extraction were five times higher than those granted for surface extraction.
The Public Prosecutor's Office noted that all those involved were aware of the facts and made decisions by common agreement.
The accused deny "over-invoicing"
During the trial, the accused from Hullera Vasco-Leonesa argued that they did not know why the topographical plans of the mines were not included in the case. The Public Prosecutor's Office accuses them precisely of having altered these documents to conceal the real origin of the coal.
The PEAL executive stated that nobody required such topographical measurements from them, although he claimed they were carried out on a monthly basis. The businessmen have consistently denied the "over-invoicing" of which they are accused.
The trial began on Monday, 11 May and continued until this Tuesday. With all parties' submissions concluded, the case has been set for judgment. The accused did not exercise their right to make a final statement.
Source: ABC