Spanish Socialist politicians convicted of corruption

Spanish judges have dealt a blow to the ruling Socialist party after convicting 19 people in one of the country’s biggest and longest running corruption cases, involving illegal handouts, alleged drug purchases and theft from a €680m fund between 2000 and 2009.

The decision was seized upon by opponents of Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist caretaker prime minister, who is trying to piece together a coalition government after Spain’s inconclusive election this month.

In a ruling of more than 1,800 pages, a court in Seville delivered guilty verdicts for two Socialist former heads of Andalucía’s government, who between them were in office for almost quarter of a century, and for 17 of their one-time collaborators. Two other people were acquitted of the charges they faced.

Andalucía, Spain’s most populous region, has some of the country’s poorest areas and has long been a Socialist stronghold. But, after years in which the case gradually gained steam, the party lost power in the region in elections in December last year, ending 36 years in office.

In Tuesday’s ruling, José Antonio Griñán, who headed the regional government between 2009 and 2013 and previously served as its economy minister, was sentenced to six years in prison and banned from public office for 15 years for misuse of public funds and abuse of power. His predecessor Manuel Chaves, who ran the Andalucía government from 1990 to 2009, was banned from public office for nine years for abuse of power.

Another nine former officials were sentenced to prison terms of six to seven years each, while all but two of the 21 indicted were disqualified from public office for several years.

“This is not a case involving the Socialist party, but rather some former Socialist public officials in Andalucía,” said José Luis Abalos, one of the party’s leading national officials, although he added that neither the government nor the Socialist party could “remain indifferent” to the ruling. He noted that the case could yet be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The trial centred on the abuse of regional funds intended to help companies in distress make severance payments — but which sometimes instead went to people who never worked for the groups involved, including friends of the defendants and Socialist party colleagues.

While most of the overall €680m fund was used for its intended purpose, many of the accusations in the case have become notorious. In particular, Juan Francisco Trujillo, the former chauffeur of Andalucía’s labour minister, spent up to €25,000 a month of the funds on cocaine, he told the court last year.

The investigation began in 2011, and the last of 120 witnesses gave evidence in December. The court has rejected any suggestion that it delayed the sentencing until after this month’s general election.

But Spain’s centre-right People’s party, which has had serious corruption scandals of its own, including a party financing case that triggered the fall of the national government last year, leapt on the ruling.

“This is the biggest corruption case our country has known,” said Teodoro García Egea, secretary-general of the PP. He called on the prime minister — who came to power on the back of last year’s vote of no confidence in the previous PP government — to live up to his own tough talk on corruption.

“We want to know if Mr Sánchez will present a vote of no confidence in himself,” Mr García Egea said.

At present, Mr Sánchez is focused on attempts to win parliament’s backing next month to form a coalition government with the radical left Podemos party.

Pablo Iglesias, the Podemos leader, linked the case to the “corruption and arrogance” of the old two-party system, adding that “Spain has changed and will no longer tolerate corruption”. In a tweet, Mr Iglesias alluded to the prospective coalition with the Socialists as an “opportunity to defend social justice and guarantee the cleanness of institutions”.

But other leftwing politicians, including some from Podemos, called for the Socialists to pay back the stolen money.