The reform of the crime of embezzlement of public funds will force review hundreds of sentences in which he was convicted of this crime, because the Penal Code itself, the Constitution and European legislation and jurisprudence oblige all those convicted to transfer any regulatory modification that is most beneficial to them. Among these sentences is that of the Ere de Andalucía, but also that of the first period of the Gürtel that gave rise to the motion of censure that threw the Government out of Mariano Rajoy, or that of the Nóos case.
The problem is that, unlike what can happen with the repeal of sedition that only requires reviewing a sentence, that of the ‘procés’ of the Supreme Court, any change in the crime of embezzlement affects hundreds of resolutions. “To any councilor from all of Spain convicted of having benefited a friend,” sources from the Supreme Court consulted by EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA give as an example. Only in 2020, in 20 of the 47 indictments filed in as many cases by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, they were accused of this crime, according to the latest report of the State Attorney General’s Office.
The reform of the Criminal Code of 2015 broadly assimilated the misappropriation and unfair administration to embezzlement of public funds, in such a way that it could more easily prosecute those who did not profit directly, but used public money for purposes other than those budgeted for. The announced change is addressed to reduce the penalty for those who did not personally profit from the embezzled.
the clearest
The most recent and clear case is that of the Ere of Andalusia and the former Andalusian president Jose Antonio Grinan, pending entry into prison to serve six years in prison for embezzlement and prevarication by the specific procedure by which the Junta de Andalucía channeled its subsidies for early retirement in fraudulent ERE and arbitrary aid to companies.
The Supreme Court confirmed last July the sentences imposed on him and 18 other Andalusian socialist leaders for allow for 10 years the granting of aid without control for an amount of 700 million euros. Two of the magistrates Susana Polo and Ana FerrerThey considered that both the former president and four others involved should have been acquitted of the crime of embezzlement. Griñán would benefit directly from the reform, because, regardless of what his conduct helped his party to perpetuate itself in the Andalusian Government, he did not put a euro in his pocket.
benefit Matas
And the judgment of Nóos, in which the former president of the Balearic Islands james matas He was sentenced to 3 years and eight months in prison for contracting with Iñaki Urdangarin and his partner Diego Torres. If the reform goes through to mitigate the penalty provided for in cases where there is no personal gain, Matas will be one of the beneficiaries in this case, because his sentence was for hiring the son-in-law of King Juan Carlos.
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But, in addition, any reform will force many more convictions to be reviewed, to check if there was personal gain or the money was diverted to other or even collective purposes. Even that of the Gürtel, where the ex-treasurer of the PP was sentenced Luis Barcenas and the leader of the Gürtel Francis Correa 29 and 51 years in prison, as well as 27 other people. In addition to profiting through the collection of commissions in exchange for awards, they were also sentenced for paying for electoral acts of the PP in the Madrid municipalities of Majadahonda and Pozuelo de Alarcón.
The modification will make it necessary to review all the sentences handed down for this crime in which the convicts continue to serve their sentence in some way, even though they are already enjoying the third degree, as may be the case with Urdangarin himself.