The head of the Court of Plaza number 3 of the Instruction Section of the Court of Instance of València has prosecuted 14 people, including a lieutenant colonel who acted as chief auditor of the Economic Management Unit (UGE) in the 6th Zone of the Armed Institute. They are being investigated for alleged cost overruns and other irregularities in public works contracts intended for the maintenance and renovation of facilities of the Civil Guard in the Comunitat Valenciana between 2018 and 2022.
According to details from the Superior Court of Justice of the Comunitat Valenciana (TSJCV), among those charged is also another agent of the Benemérita and several businessmen linked to these awards.
The magistrate appreciates, in view of the proceedings carried out, the existence of "rational indications of criminality" for the possible commission of crimes of embezzlement, prevarication, documentary falsification, bribery, influence peddling, and membership in a criminal group.
Consequently, the instructor issues an order for abbreviated proceedings, with which the instruction phase is concluded, and refers the actions to the Prosecutor's Office and the parties involved to request the opening of an oral trial with the corresponding indictment, the dismissal of the case, or, exceptionally, the practice of complementary proceedings.
In the same order, dated this Monday, July 20, and subject to reform and/or appeal, the judge excludes two other investigated individuals from the proceedings and agrees to their provisional dismissal, as specified by the High Court of Valencia.
The judicial resolution indicates that the main accused, the aforementioned lieutenant colonel, would have taken advantage of his position as head of the UGE and the trust granted by his superiors to "create for his own benefit a network of businessmen and companies through which he could manipulate the public works of the Civil Guard."
Among the alleged irregularities detected, the judge mentions the improper fragmentation of invoices to evade administrative controls, the repeated awarding of contracts to companies linked to the same businessman, and the issuance of invoices for amounts far exceeding the actual value of the work or, even, for work that was never carried out.
According to reports from the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and the Internal Affairs of the Operational Deputy Directorate of the Civil Guard, in some interventions the cost overruns would have reached around 200%, and the total damage to public finances is estimated in tens of thousands of euros.
"SYSTEMIC CORRUPTION NETWORK"
The order also includes indications about the existence of a "supposed systemic corruption network" led by the lieutenant colonel to "enrich his real estate assets" in the Valencian town of Siete Aguas, through the execution of private works in his home funded by several of the suppliers who were awarded the public contracts.
Likewise, it refers to the "financial opacity" in the purchase of part of those properties, due to the payment of amounts in cash "without banking traceability or documentary support of origin."