Alicante court condemns five people for fraud in Calpe water works of 2004

Alicante Provincial Court passed sentence against five people for misconduct in office and fraud committed in the awarding of contracts for the modernisation of Calpe's water supply network, carried out in 2004. The sentences range from seven to eleven months in prison.

According to the ruling, the defendants devised a mechanism to ensure that the works contract went to a company linked to Francisco A.T., in order to inflate the final cost of the work.

Among those convicted is Juan R.M., who served as the water councillor for Calpe Town Council, and Francisco A.T., his brother-in-law.

The court ruling also sets a joint indemnity to be paid by the convicted parties to Calpe Town Council of approximately 440,000 euros. The court, however, acquitted the defendants of fraud charges and applied mitigating circumstances for the undue delays suffered by the judicial proceedings.

The sentence, announced on 16 October, is subject to appeal.