Legal proceedings against the mayor of Estepona and former municipal worker enters new stage

The legal proceedings against the Mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano, and C.P.B, the woman hired by the town hall in 2023 who received two months’ salary without any record of attending her workplace, have entered a new stage. The public prosecutor’s office has asked the presiding judge in Malaga, Iñigo Villar Gómez, to continue the case for alleged embezzlement of public funds, while the defence teams have requested that the proceedings be dismissed.

Estepona town hall has reported that García Urbano deposited, on 25 November, the amount of 5,276.92 euros from his own pocket into the council’s treasury account. This sum corresponds to the net remuneration received by the woman, with whom he allegedly had a close relationship, and who was employed by the council from 13 February to 31 March 2023. The document evidencing this deposit, which SUR has had access to, was submitted to the judge by García Urbano’s lawyer, Francisco Javier Sánchez-Vera Gómez-Trelles, and the judge has accepted this evidence.

The Socialist municipal spokesperson, Emma Molina, said that the payment made by the mayor “is an acknowledgment of the irregularities committed” and once again called for his resignation. For the secretary-general of the PSOE in Malaga, Josele Aguilar, the repayment of the money “is a clear admission of his guilt”. “Instead of trying to prove that the woman employed carried out her duties, he has returned the money she received, thereby admitting that she had obtained it improperly,” he said.

However, the press office of Estepona town hall hit back, claiming that “there is no crime or irregularity in the contracts that have been carried out by the council since José María García Urbano became mayor”. It claimed that this payment has been made “to provide greater guarantees for the procedure and to demonstrate the absence of irregularities or any harm to the town hall”, adding “that none of the accusing parties have presented evidence against the mayor”.

Judicial dispensation

The legal proceedings for alleged embezzlement of public funds have resumed after being on hold for five months due to an alleged conflict of legal representatives, which has now been resolved, allowing the process to continue.

On 20 November, García Urbano’s lawyer requested before the judge that his client be excused from attending the summons on 27 November, arguing that he had already been informed of the current proceedings last January and that “he is considered instructed and informed and does not wish to clarify anything other than what his defence can already allege”. The judge accepted this request and authorised García Urbano not to attend court.

The Vox lawyer, who attended the hearing via videoconference due to being unwell, has filed a complaint with the judge regarding the exemption granted to the mayor.

During the hearing before the judge, the lawyer for the socialist municipal group, Francisco Javier Conejo Rueda, requested the indictment of both the mayor and C.P.B, for an alleged crime of embezzlement of public funds. “We believe that the mayor should be charged as the perpetrator of this crime, and she as an accomplice, for having received the remuneration she obtained for this supposed work, which, according to our investigations conducted during the proceedings, she did not perform,” he said.

Similarly, the public prosecutor requested the indictment of both. However, Vox’s lawyer has requested the indictment of only the mayor of Estepona. Both defence teams have requested the dismissal of the case. Neither of them wished to make any statements to SUR upon leaving the courts.

A five-day period opened in case any of the parties wish to propose evidentiary proceedings. If nothing is presented within this time, the judge will have to decide whether the judicial process will continue with a jury at the provincial court of Malaga, or whether the case will be dismissed.