Public prosecutor seeks ten-year disqualification for former Navalcarnero mayor over irregular purchases
The Madrid Provincial Public Prosecutor's Office accuses former Navalcarnero mayor Baltasar Santos of misconduct in office for splitting invoices for antiques. The purchases, made between 2006 and 2009, totalled €734,571 without a procurement contract.
Accusation over irregular acquisition of antiques
According to ABC, the Madrid Provincial Public Prosecutor's Office has requested ten years' disqualification for Navalcarnero's former mayor Baltasar Santos (PP) for the acquisition of antiques through split invoices. The preliminary charge sheet imputes a continuing offence of misconduct in office related to purchases made between 2006 and 2009.
During those years, Santos decided to acquire successive pieces of natural stone granite, of medieval and Renaissance origin, through an antiques company. The purchases were made on four occasions: one in 2006 at the supplier's premises and three at specialised fairs (Feriarte 2007, Almoneda 2008 and Feriarte 2009).
Invoice splitting below the legal limit
The accused split the invoices to avoid exceeding €18,000, the legal limit for minor contracts without administrative procedure. However, many individual pieces significantly exceeded that amount. The invoices, despite corresponding to purchases between 2000 and 2009, were issued between August 2014 and December of the same year, nearly all for amounts below the legal threshold.
The municipality's deputy comptroller certified on 10 April 2015 the total debt for those invoices: €734,571. According to the charge, Santos made the purchases through verbal contracting, without drawing up any administrative procedure that would approve the expenditure and incorporate supporting documentation.
Source: ABC