Liam Kirkaldy (Reporter)
A JUDGE has once again implicated two former Andalucia leaders in the largest public money fraud case in Spanish history.
Judge Mercedes Alaya insists that both Manuel Chaves and Antonio Grinan were fully aware of the ERE payments scandal, involving up to €1.3 billion in fraudulent payments.
While no exact details of any charges have been released, Alaya insists that the ‘cupula’, or leadership of the Junta knew of the illegal system of siphoning off money.
She maintains that the former leaders will be brought in for questioning in the new year, along with five other senior figures.
Alaya has also ordered police to seize trade documents from UGT union offices, as the ERE scandal continues to widen.
Raids – involving around 50 Guardia Civil officers, came following the announcement that 1,756 documents relating to the ERE case have ‘disappeared’ from the Sevilla branch of the union.
A spokesman said, “We do not know if the judge is looking for information about these files in Cordoba, but if so, it may be very difficult to find something.”
The ERE scandal began after money for redundancies was found to have been distributed fraudulently.
UGT boss Juan Lanzas has been convicted for acting as a ‘fixer’ for corrupt payments, though he was released from prison after his family paid €200,000 in bail.
