THE mayor of Estepona has repaid a sum of cash to the city corridor that matches precisely the wage his lover earned there after he gave her a job.
Jose Garcia Urbano coughed up €5,276.92 of his personal cash to the city corridor, however denied that transfer was an request for forgiveness as he fights a looming corruption case.
It comes simply two days earlier than a key listening to wherein prosecutors and the opposition celebration requested for him to be formally charged with misuse of public funds.
Urbano was discovered to have put in his one-time lover Cristina P to a senior position on the city corridor – one wherein she herself admitted she by no means as soon as went to work, by no means held a place, by no means had a desk or laptop and was by no means given any duties.
Urbano known as the compensation a ‘as a precaution’ to make sure that the council suffered ‘no monetary loss’ from the episode, whereas on the similar time insisting it ‘doesn’t acknowledge’ any wrongdoing.
It needs to be famous that Spanish regulation states that anybody accused of misuse of public funds who totally returns the alleged harm earlier than a trial begins mechanically qualifies for a lowered sentence if convicted.
The opposition PSOE known as the fee ‘a transparent admission’ that the mayor misused public cash and has known as Junta president Juanma Moreno to take away him from workplace.
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Cristina didn’t even reside within the province in the course of the interval she was supposedly employed in Estepona, in accordance with a felony file associated to a separate scandal the mayor has been coping with.
Astonishingly, she even discovered the time to have some beauty work finished in Malaga with out ever submitting medical depart to the council.
The scandal erupted after Cristina appeared as a witness in a separate sexual harassment criticism filed by her ex-husband, an area police officer.
That case was closed in January 2025, however her testimony – that she was on the council payroll whereas by no means working – triggered the present corruption investigation.
In April, a decide dominated that the case ought to proceed to a jury trial, noting indications that Urbano could have abused his place as mayor to profit his lover.
Both the general public prosecutor and the Socialist Party have requested formal costs be introduced in opposition to the mayor and the lady.
Far-right celebration Vox has requested for costs solely in opposition to the mayor. Garcia Urbano didn’t attend Thursday’s listening to after the court docket accepted a request from his defence group.
It’s simply the newest scandal to canine the once-high flying mayor of one of many Costa del Sol’s most fascinating expat cities.
Estepona commonly attracts swathes of high-paying British and northern European residents who swell the city corridor’s coffers, drawn by its fast growth, seaside promenade upgrades and ‘Garden of the Costa del Sol’ branding.
The court docket will resolve within the coming weeks whether or not the case proceeds to a full jury trial.
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