Resigned and now arrested: the PP councillor for Coín connected to a money-laundering scheme involving brothels
The former councillor left his public post before the operation became public, citing "personal reasons" and the local government team is adamant that the events under investigation are his private business and his alone
Miguel Vázquez, former councillor with Partido Popular (People's Party) in Coín, was among the ten people arrested as part of Operation Gargamel, a National Police investigation that has uncovered an alleged organisation dedicated to laundering money obtained from the sexual exploitation of women in brothels in Malaga city and Cártama. The arrest took place in mid-November, although it was not made public until a few weeks later. The former councillor was released after giving a formal statement and is awaiting further legal proceedings in the case.
A few days after the arrest, before the operation became public knowledge, Vázquez attended the regular meeting of the full council to submit his resignation as councillor. He did so unexpectedly, citing "personal reasons", without linking his departure to any of the ongoing legal proceedings. At that time, municipal sources confirmed to SUR that the town hall had received no official notification of the investigation or the earlier arrest.
The ex-councillor had been in charge of the areas of heritage and industry and business development since 2023, the year he was elected. He combined this work with his professional activity at a tax consultancy, as he did not dedicate himself exclusively to the councillor role. According to PP sources, his identification within the police operation is related precisely to this private activity and not to any municipal activity or responsibility. The PP stresses that the investigation focuses on his professional role and that the facts attributed to him are unrelated to his public duties.
Once the arrest was made public and his involvement in the case confirmed, the PP initiated internal disciplinary proceedings, as required by party statute. The next step would be suspension of his membership, if the process warrants it. The party insists that, according to the information available, the cause for which the ex-councillor is being investigated by police "derives exclusively from his work in the private sector", so there is no connection whatsoever with municipal decisions or management.
No links whatsoever...
Coín town hall, for its part, has made it clear that there is no connection between the investigation and local government. Municipal sources explain that the council received no official notification or request regarding the legal proceedings at the time Vázquez submitted his resignation and that the council cannot assume responsibility for the private, professional activities of its council members. "The case does not affect the institution or any other councillor," stated the local government team.
"The case does not affect the institution or any other councillor," stated the local government team.
VOX Coín has also joined the controversy, demanding immediate explanations from the mayor after learning of the arrest of the former councillor and criticising his silence on the matter. The local party group, through its spokesperson Luis Miguel Rivas, considers it "extremely serious" that the town council has not offered a public statement despite the fact that the individual in question was a councillor on the governing team. Rivas also points out that, during the time that Vázquez was in charge of coordinating European subsidies, Coín was excluded from an eight-million-euro grant that went to neighbouring municipalities. VOX insists that it is up to the courts to clarify the facts, but calls for "transparency, accountability and clear explanations" regarding the situation and the measures that the town hall intends to adopt.
Meanwhile, the local opposition has linked this situation to the loss of a European grant of eight million euros that Coín did not receive, pointing the finger at Miguel Vázquez as he was responsible for coordinating European subsidies within the local government team. The town hall denies any connection between the two matters and clarifies that the municipality could not apply for that grant because it did not have an urban agenda plan at the time, an essential requirement stipulated in the grant's guidelines. According to the local council, the fact that it did not apply is unrelated to either the ongoing judicial investigation or the former councillor's political activities. His involvement in this matter was limited to a coordinating role that could not make up for the absence of the required technical document.
According to the latest information available to SUR, the mayor will address this issue with the municipal spokespersons at the next meeting of the information committee prior to the next full council meeting. At that meeting, the available information will be presented and it will be made clear that the case involving the former councillor pertains exclusively to his private life and business. Furthermore, the town council does not rule out issuing a public statement to reassure the public and stress that municipal operations have not been affected by this case.
