Three years' imprisonment for former head of Labour at Andalusian Regional Government in 'ERE case'
The Provincial Court of Seville has sentenced Daniel Alberto Rivera to three years and one day in prison for an irregular grant of €262,500 to the company Consyproan.
Sentence in the 'ERE case': three years' imprisonment for former Socialist senior official at Andalusian Regional Government
The Provincial Court of Seville has imposed three years and one day in prison on Daniel Alberto Rivera, former Director General of Labour and Social Security at the Andalusian Regional Government during the Socialist administration, according to ABC. The sentence forms part of a separate section of the so-called 'ERE case' and stems from a grant of €262,500 irregularly awarded to Consyproan, a company engaged in the construction and building of residential properties.
The sentence, dated 14 May and notified to the parties this Monday, declares Rivera guilty of the crime of misconduct in office and the crime of falsification of official documents, in concurrent proceedings with a crime of misappropriation of public funds. The court applies the ordinary mitigating circumstance of undue delays, which reduced the sentence requested by the prosecutions. In addition to the prison sentence, the ruling imposes six years and one day of absolute disqualification from public office.
The sole administrator of Consyproan is also convicted, though with a lower sentence: twenty-two months in prison and three years of absolute disqualification from public office. The court considers him a necessary cooperator in the crimes of misconduct in office, falsification of documents and misappropriation, and in his case appreciates both the mitigating circumstance of undue delays and the highly qualified mitigating circumstance of reparation of damage.
During the oral hearing, the company administrator acknowledged the facts, admitted his guilt and accepted the sentences and civil liability in the terms requested by the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office and the accusation brought by the Andalusian PP. The Court also rules that the sums previously paid by this accused, including payment made in the framework of the company's insolvency proceedings, shall be finally handed over to the Andalusian Regional Government, thereby covering the full amount of the grant paid.
The requests of the prosecutions at the hearing differed significantly from one another. The Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office and the Andalusian PP had requested for Rivera a single sentence of four years and six months in prison, accompanied by eight years of absolute disqualification from public office. The accusation brought by the Andalusian Regional Government itself, conversely, had requested only one year and nine months in prison with three years' special disqualification from employment or public office. Regarding the company's representative, the Regional Government considered that there were insufficient grounds to appreciate falsification of documents and requested one year and a half in prison with two years and six months' disqualification.
Rivera's conviction is above what was requested by the Regional Government but below what was demanded by the Prosecution Office and the Andalusian PP, reflecting the mitigating circumstance applied by the court.
The 'ERE case' is the largest judicial process for corruption in the history of Andalusia and has given rise to multiple separate sections that continue to be tried before different Seville courts.
Source: ABC