Boné and Noguera in the dock over alleged contract fraud
Two Ciudadanos councillors appeared in court this week to defend allegations of an alleged crime of prevarication, in the management of the contract for the green areas of Orihuela Costa.
“We are satisfied that we have been able to explain and clarify the work that was done in the infrastructure area,” Boné said following her appearance in the Investigative Court 1 of Orihuela.
The case was initially scheduled for 13 March, but the lawyers’ strike then forced the postponement of the taking of statements. Since the motion of censure after which Ciudadanos and the PSOE forced through a ‘vote of no confidence’ in the PP mayor Emilio Bascuñana, which allowed them to govern for a year, Ciudadanos has always denied the multitude of “unjustified political complaints” that has been levelled against them.
“All our work was done correctly, and this is supported by the municipal technical reports. Sadly, this circus is nothing more than a political grievance that the Cambiemos group has against us,” insists Boné.
“Curiously, the PP councillors who held the powers in contracting and finance prior to us have not prosecuted,” the councillor pointed out in reference to Sabina Goretti and Francisco Sáez, who were responsible for the Contracting areas between 2019 and 2022 in the case of Goretti, and between 2017 and 2019 in the case of Sáez.
As well as the contract allegations for the green areas, Noguera is also being investigated for a complaint by the PP over the coastal road contract, which was put out to tender in February, doubling its value to 10 million. Two complaints are pending regarding this process, one in the Secretary’s Prosecutor’s Office against one of the companies that took part in the competition and another in Anti-Fraud office by a municipal surveyor against the Contracting Board.
