UCO certifies payments to PSPV-PSOE and PP by construction companies in Assut case

A Civil Guard report details payments of over 615,000 euros to socialists and 87,000 to populars linked to the Espartal PAI in Xixona.

Generic image of money and legal documents on a table.
IA

Generic image of money and legal documents on a table.

A report by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has certified payments of 615,823 euros to the PSPV-PSOE and 87,264 euros to the PP by construction companies investigated in the Assut case, intended for electoral expenses.

This document is part of separate piece number 7 of this major case, which investigates the Espartal PAI in Xixona. Specifically, it focuses on the signing of an agreement between the state public company Acuamed and the Xixona City Council to expand the desalination plant in Mutxamel-el Campello.
According to the UCO, the agreement would have been promoted by the business group Axis, owned by businessman Jaime Febrer, with the participation of lawyer José Luis Vera, linked to the PSOE, and the director of Institutional Relations at Acuamed, Joan Navarro. These individuals allegedly made the agreement viable.
In return, a commission of two million euros would have been agreed upon. From this amount, payments to various recipients have been identified, including 563,500 euros to José Luis Vera and 615,823 euros to the PSOE. The amount destined for the socialists was materialized through the payment for services to advertising and communication companies, which allowed the party to save expenses in the electoral campaigns of 2007 and 2008.
Regarding the PP, the UCO indicates that the Axis group also covered electoral expenses for the municipal candidacy in Xixona in 2007, with payments of 87,264 euros to a company from the Engloba group for campaign work. The investigated agreement allowed the unblocking of the PAI's processing, which had been paralyzed due to a lack of water resources, by allocating the expansion of the desalination plant to supply Xixona.
Another UCO report submitted to the court within the framework of the Assut case details meetings between the former Councilor for Urban Planning of València and current Director General of Transparency, Jorge Bellver, and businessman Jaime Febrer in leisure venues and company headquarters to discuss urban planning matters. Investigators also link Bellver to the reception of "gifts" to influence urban planning procedures that would have benefited investigated construction companies, such as watches ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 euros, champagne, or luxury suitcases.
This new report, an extension of a previous one from 2021, focuses on the urban development of the Grau de València area and describes contacts with various officials and individuals linked to the administration to "make viable" the processing. The Civil Guard maintains that the Axis group would have used the payment of commissions or other benefits to influence administrative procedures, in a dynamic it considers generalized in the operations investigated within this macro-case.