Iona Napier
EX-JUNTA boss Manuel Chaves has claimed ignorance over Spain’s biggest public money scandal.
Appearing in court in Madrid over the ERE scandal, yesterday, he insisted: ‘If I had known what was going on, I would not have permitted it.’
The 70-year-old, who led Andalucia for 19 years and now has a seat in Madrid’s parliament, claimed to have no idea that his Employment Ministry was syphoning tens of millions fraudulently every year for a decade.
Jose Grinan, his successor, in 2009, also claimed to know nothing about the fraud.
However he admitted that there was a failure to bring in controls and said: ‘There was no grand plan but there was great fraud’.
The alleged fraud is estimated to amount to as much as €855 million between 2000 and 2010, when the probe was launched.
In a four hour hearing, Grinan described the proceedings as a ‘torment’ for him and his family.
Looks like Chaves and Grinan have been watching old episodes of Fawlty Towers and taking their cue from Manuel the waiter who claimed to “know nothing”.
It won’t wash mateys.
How can someone not know their own department, of which they are the head, is embezzling millions of euros, for a decade? Get a cell ready for this charlatan.
He’s up to his neck in it. It’s interesting that he says he knew nothing about it because that is incompetence by default. I still can’t believe that PSOE got in again, what do they have to do to get voted out, reintroduce public floggings? Rumour has it the zombie parliament will stall and another election will have to be called in September – please let it be anyone but this lot and IU again. I wonder how much electoral freedom the people of Andalucia really have?
Oh..he knew about what was going on..he had to! Look into his pockets ..and you know you’ll find dirty money.