Pedro San Ginés, the ex-President of the Cabildo, has been accused of “belonging to a criminal organisation”.
San Ginés faces trail in Arrecife on various charges , including prevarication, embezzlement, fraud, falsification of documents, bribery and money laundering. However, the crime of “belonging to a criminal group” has also appeared on the charge list.
The group in question is composed of San Ginés, his close associate Ignacio Catalayud and Catalyud’s wife Juana Fernández de las Heras and the business Adelfas 24 S.L.
The case arose after Lanzarote’s Water Consortium detected the alleged misappropriation of €800,000 in legal costs by Catalayud. Further investigation, and a police search of the homes of the accused in March, have resulted in allegations that San Ginés paid well below the market value for the house in which he lives.
The judge stated that the Adelfas 24 business “was used by the family criminal network linked to it to make effective the delivery of a property to the investigated Pedro San Ginés Gutiérrez”.
The case is sure to dominate headlines in the future, and is likely to have serious implications for San Ginés’ possibilities of standing in next May’s elections.
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