Imogen Calderwood
A FORMER chief of the Andalucian tax office has been arrested as part of Spain’s ‘biggest ever
fraud case’.
Angel Ojeda has been charged with forgery, fraud and improper appropriation as part of Operation Oscar, one of many ongoing investigations into the scandal.
The corruption scandal – which involved hundreds of professional training courses – saw Andalucian officials allegedly siphon off upwards of €2 billion worth of EU education funding.
Police claim that the business network led by Ojeda had illegally obtained €49.8 million that was intended as funding for training courses, and expect this number to grow as the investigation continues.
The police report claims Ojeda was leading a ‘very complex business network consisting of more than 50 companies, foundations and associations’ that had received ‘tens of millions of euros’ from the Andalucian government.
Eight other people – all linked to Ojeda and his network – were arrested with him, including his son Marcos Ojeda.
The arrest comes just a month after the arrest of 15 more Andalucian officials as part of connected investigation Operated Edu.
The 15 included father-son team Pablo Andres Viedma Hurtado – president of the Axarquia Association of Training and Employment – and Eduardo Viedma Hurtado.
What a complete shocker. This happened in Andalucia? Wow.
tim why the surprise? or is it sarcasm?
This is just a small part of the Spanish national sport generally known as corruption
Im sorry I didn’t make it clear, muchos sarcasm…
It may be the biggest rip-off in terms of money, but not the most scandalous and disgusting. One needs to look at the Administration (Government) and Royalty for that.
I seems the only way forward is to get rid of all officials, political parties etc, etc and start again, this sort of thing just seems to go on and on, or is it just a bigger version of “The Spanish Way” whereby even the local garage asks you if you want an I.V.A. receipt or not.
To be more specific than the article, Ojeda (PSOE) is the former Minister of Finance at the Junta de Andalucia and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There are people starving in Spain, tens of thousands homeless, pensioners having to support younger family members whilst the government cut their pensions and introduce retrospective cuts and taxes to those who worked abroad during the Franco years. Spanish politicians are beyond contempt and as they seem incapable of policing themselves perhaps it is time that the EU instructed Interpol and Europol to round them up and throw them in jail and appoint a technocrat government made up of none Spaniards to run the country till it’s sorted and is fit to be a fully functioning member of the EU, which at the moment it is certainly not.
Spain in a nutshell really. The penalties and prison sentences are ridiculous; the culture is engrained with this sort of behaviour and they do it because these officials simply have no shame, and because the whole country is so apathetic it’s worth the risk. No doubt this case will trundle on for a decade or more and they’ll probably build a new court building to house all the accused. Appeals will then be lodged and eventually the case will be totally forgotten about with more important things to worry about like the next World Cup and the latest Gibraltar border news. Eventually the accused will get a couple of years inside and then fly off to the Seychelles to spend the laundered funds. Just keep paying your tax bills in the meantime lol.
Biggest and most expensive error for Spain was joining the euro
Whatever you say guys , I am engineer and have been living and working abroad within anglosaxons (mainly Canada & UK) and believe me we spaniards have nothing to envy them, we are way more professionals , hard workers and reliable than anglo average , however they are the best on marketing and covering up of their own dirty clothes , I agree that a lot of bad things are showing up in Spain but we will get over it like in past times and become a more robust and better society.
BTW, Looking forward to return to Spain
Corruption writ large from the top the Royal family to the bottom the average joe on the black market..And why shouldn’t they if people like this guy can do this then hey fill yer boots Oh and then thers the headline today announcing that Spain has a Trillion dollar deficit to boot..Spain is in a tail spin which will take forever to recover..The sick man of Europe..Absolutely….Oh apparently it’s all Gibraltar’s fault that the Spanish economy is dead in the water..Come on what a farce..Shame on this guy and all his corrupt mates..Shame on them all
Neo
You are an engineer working in those ‘Anglo-Saxon’ countries because your own country is not competent enough to be able to give you work.
Spanish workers more professional and hard working than northern Europeans and North Americans? This is why Spain’s economy is more powerful than the UK’s and Canada right?
Oh, and good luck finding a job in Spain’s basket case economy.
Thank’s god I also have job offers from Spain , actually I likely leave soon Canada for a good opportunity in Spain, crises shake conciousness and things are changing for good in Spain , I love Spain and respect Gibraltar people and their decision to keep adhered to UK, let’s work together for a better relationship , opportunities will eventually come back up and if someone hates Spain and well known warmth and good people well what else can I do la vida sigue siendo maravillosa .
Well said Neo. Corruption is endemic in the UK too from the Royal family to the cash-for-questions and cash-for-peerages, to IBOR rigging, and pedo rings at the heart of the establishment. Unfortunately it’s a human trait – power corrupts, and total power corrupts totally. And yes, Spain is pulling out of the crisis by competing on the world stage, improving productivity and exporting/selling more. Not by £300 billion QE to create the UK housing overheated housing bubble – can anyone guess where that is going to end up? Worrying times for many of us.