Trial begins against the mayor of Estepona over alleged embezzlement

The court order, dated 10 November and to which SUR has had access, states that the court to try García Urbano is the provincial court of Malaga. Once he has been served with the order, the period for submitting his defence statement will begin, allowing the new phase of the legal proceedings to continue, according to sources consulted.

In presenting its provisional conclusions, the public prosecutor’s office sought a sentence of one year and eleven months’ imprisonment for the mayor of Estepona, together with the additional penalty of disqualification from standing for election, as well as disqualification from holding public office or employment for five years and eleven months.

This change to the sentencing request, as explained by the public prosecutor’s office, is due to the fact that, once the legal proceedings had commenced, José María García Urbano paid into the municipal coffers the sum of 5,276.92 euros, corresponding to the net salary received by C.P. B. In June 2026, he also paid 2,589.97 euros to the general treasury of the social security in respect of the contributions on those salaries.

With regard to C. P. B., the public prosecutor’s office considers her to have been an essential accomplice in the alleged offences of abuse of public office and misappropriation of public funds. It is seeking a prison sentence of four years and six months, together with an eight-year disqualification from holding public office or employment.

It should be noted that the public prosecutor’s office maintained in its indictment that, in February 2023, the mayor appointed this woman to a position of trust "knowing full well that she would never carry out any work (...) to the consequent detriment of the municipal finances".

For his part, José María García Urbano reiterated his "full" confidence in the justice system. He expressed his hope that legal proceedings would begin as soon as possible to prove that "no offence or irregularity has been committed" in connection with the appointment of this trusted aide for a period of 46 days between February and March 2023.

The mayor’s defence team pointed out that, during the preliminary investigation, reports from the municipal human resources department had been submitted which substantiated the duties inherent to this post and the services "actually provided" by the person employed, and testimony was included corroborating their attendance at the town hall and the work they carried out. “A presence that is also recorded in the judicial proceedings conducted,” according to sources consulted.

The defence pointed out that the origins of these proceedings lie in the statements made by this individual, in their capacity as a witness, in another court case against the mayor, which was definitively dismissed by the provincial court of Malaga. These previous events, together with the statements made in the current proceedings, demonstrate "the lack of substance in the allegations", according to the defence, which insists that these proceedings form part of a "strategy of political and personal attrition aimed at damaging the mayor’s public image".

For its part, the PSOE, which is acting as a private prosecutor, requested in its indictment that a trial be opened against José María García Urbano and that he be sentenced to five years and six months’ imprisonment and ten years’ disqualification from public office for alleged embezzlement and perverting the course of justice. For C.P.B. it requested two years’ imprisonment and six years’ disqualification from public office.

In the case of Vox, which is also acting as a private prosecutor, the sentence sought for García Urbano on charges of embezzlement and perverting the course of justice is five and a half years’ imprisonment, as set out in the ruling handed down by the investigating judge in the case.