Once again, the Manilva case has been postponed in the courts. Section One of the Provincial Court of Málaga had been due to try this Thursday, 13th, one of the separate proceedings of the Manilva case, which began 14 years ago and is close to concluding. On this occasion, the sick leave of the former mayor’s lawyer was the reason for this new postponement.
We recall that these separate proceedings, split off from the «Manilva Case», involve the former mayor Antonia Muñoz, the former cleaning councillor Paqui López, the Town Hall’s current legal adviser Aitor Menoyo, and former councillors Antonio de Haro and Emilio López, on charges of misconduct in public office (prevaricación) and embezzlement over alleged irregularities in the transfer of municipal funds to the El Hacho urban development body while Muñoz was mayor.
14 YEARS IN THE COURTS
The events date back to 2008, when the Entidad Urbanística Colaboradora de Conservación del Complejo Residencial El Hacho (the maintenance body for the El Hacho residential complex) was established, the largest housing development in the municipality, located next to Puerto de la Duquesa.
The prosecutor states in his submission that both the mayor and some members of the Town Hall’s governing board ordered, or helped to approve with their vote, operations by which the El Hacho urban development body was funded with public money from the Town Hall.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office also demands that the defendants and the El Hacho urban development body pay Manilva Town Hall compensation of 217,159 euros, the amount allegedly embezzled.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is initially seeking eight years in prison for the former mayor, accusing her of these offences on a continuing basis, while for the former mayor and four other people it requests four years in prison and 17 years of disqualification from public employment or office.
An adviser is also accused, for whom the public prosecutor requests a sentence of seven years in prison.
