Corruption in Navarre
The history of the contemporary corruption in the Spanish region of Navarre dates back last 1970s when the first Navarrese executive cabinet after the establishment of Navarre's Chartered Autonomous regime in 1982, was shocked by the FASA affair. However with the sole exception of the scandals that took place in the tenure of the socialist president of Navarre Gabriel Urralburu, no high rank officers of the Navarrese government have been found guilty by the courts of justice.
Governmental corruption record
- FASA affair (1980-1983): A scandal of public funds embezzlement involving UCD high-ranking official and president of Navarre Jaime Ignacio del Burgo (1979-1983), eventually impeached by the parliament and deposed by the Regional Government (1983). Years later, a tribunal declared him innocent.[1][2]
- Urralburu affair: Socialist president of Navarre (1983-1991) involved in corruption for kickbacks received in public works. Condemned to prison term in 1995.[3] In 1998, he was also convicted of continued bribery and offences against governmental treasury and mismanagement of public funds within the Luis Roldán case, centred also in Navarre, for which he was given a 11-year-prison sentence.[4] However, by 2001 he was on parole months after getting imprisoned.[5]
- Otano affair: Socialist president of Navarre Javier Otano (1995-1996) was leading a tripartite coalition with parties Eusko Alkartasuna and CDN when revelations broke out of the existence of a bank account under his name in Switzerland, with Otano announcing his resignation from office almost immediately.[6] Otano categorically denied any personal intent for his signature on the account, signing only "on request of Urralburu" in 1991 for the sake of the party. It was revealed as a case of illegal funding of the Spanish Socialists in Navarre and fraud to the Navarre Treasury driven by Gabriel Urralburu,[7] with deep political implications. The coalition broke up right away, and Juan Cruz Alli, the leading figure of CDN (a splinter party of UPN), blamed the scandal directly on "Socialist disloyalty" for demolishing "the possibility of building an alternative Government of Navarre [other than UPN or PSN] integrating diverse political options and therefore betting on the support of the bulk of the Navarre society."[8]
- Lourdes Goicoechea case (2014): There was a political scandal erupting in Yolanda Barcina's cabinet involving alleged embezzlement and preferential treatment to several high taxpayers and institutions like the University of Navarre. The Parliament of Navarre launched a parliamentary probe, concluding that the president of Navarre did not explain irregularities or account for obscure practices, for which a majority resolution censured UPN's Barcina. Trying to make political inroads of the scandal, Spanish Socialists in Navarre initially sided with Basque nationalist parties in order to impeach the president of Navarre, but in the end the national executive body of the Socialist Party considered refuse to side with political coalition Bildu due to their ultranationalist positions and ultimately the impeachment was aborted[9] Weeks after the close of the political scandal, the Spanish Supreme Court of Justice stated that no evidence of corruption or mismanagement had been found in the Goicoechea affair and closed the file.[10]
Non-Governmental corruption record
- Osasuna scandal: This erupted in early 2015 related to the iconic Navarrese top-flight football club, with links to the Treasury of the Government of Navarre, involving tax evasion, turning a blind eye in governmental surveillance duties, match fixing practices, etc. A UPN-PP-PSN majority vote in the Parliament of Navarre passed a blind fiscal bailout on Osasuna without waiting to audit results while refusing to hand over Osasuna's accountancy information to opposition parties for their consideration ahead of the vote on the law. PSN's spokesperson claimed "they had not been told" of any irregular finances by the directive board of Osasuna, while on the opposite side, EH Bildu branded the whole affair "a disgrace".[11] The football club owed the Government of Navarre 52,8 million euros, but after handing over its patrimony to the government of Navarre, the club's debt rises to 20,6 million euros after the law passed by UPN, PP and PSN.[12] The club is under scrutiny by the European Commission in May 2015.[13]
References
- ^ López Muñoz, Ismael (1986-04-17). "La justicia y el 'caso FASA-Del Burgo'". El País. Madrid. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ Sainz Pascual, Zuriñe (2012). "Jaime Ignacio del Burgo". Auñamendi Entziklopedia. EuskoMedia Fundazioa. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
- ^ "El cuarto presidente condenado de la democracia". El País. Madrid. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ Arozamena Ayala, Ainhoa. "Gabriel Urralburu". Auñamendi Entziklopedia. EuskoMedia Fundazioa. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
- ^ Checa, Arturo (2013-01-25). "La buena vida de nuestros corruptos". El Correo. Bizkaia. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ Muez, Mikel (1996-06-19). "Dimisión fulminante del socialista Javier Otano al descubrirle la juez una cuenta en Suiza". El País. Madrid. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ Lopez, B. (2005-06-22). "La comisión del «caso Otano» concluye que el PSN se benefició del dinero de Suiza". ABC. Madrid. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ "Alli deja la dirección de CDN culpando de su deriva a la «deslealtad» del PSN en 1996". Gara. 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ "El PSN acata pero critica el veto del PSOE a la moción de censura en Navarra". El País. Madrid. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
- ^ "Goicoechea se muestra contenta del archivo de las denuncias". Europa Press. Madrid. 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
- ^ Carrillo, Xabier. "Osasuna: UPN y PSN, 'preocupados'; Bildu lo tacha de 'escandaloso'". EITB. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ Lanas, Pedro (2015-04-30). "20,6 millones, la deuda fiscal". Noticias de Navarra. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
- ^ EFE (2015-05-20). "Bruselas mantiene abierta una investigación a Osasuna por ayudas de Estado". Noticias de Navarra. Pamplona. Retrieved 2015-05-20.