GNP | The links of the mayor of Bilbao with the corruption plot in Alonsotegi
The Court of Bizkaia, since January 11, is trying to set a date to start judging those allegedly responsible for one of the ramifications of the corruption plot in Alonsotegi and, with this, bring to trial several senior officials of the PNV . This is clear from the documentation to which he has had access Hordago-El Salto.
The start of the trial, which was scheduled to begin on October 18 last year, was suspended for reasons related to the Health of José Luis Erezuma, one of the defendants in the plot for prevarication. A few days ago, Erezuma’s lawyer responded to the legal requirement to report on “the evolution of the treatment” received by the defendant. “Having seen the brief presented”, on January 26 the Court of Bizkaia decided to extend the suspension of the hearing for five months, “until an improvement is communicated that makes it possible to hold the oral trial”. The former mayor of Alonsotegi (2011-2015) will be tried for paying a construction company 681,000 euros for works not carried out.
The former mayor of Alonsotegi (2011-2015) will be tried for paying a construction company 681,000 euros for works not carried out.
Of this amount, 600,000 euros came from the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, and were delivered under the concept of “unforeseen events” as a result of an order signed by Juan Mari Aburto, appointed Provincial Deputy of the Presidency in June 2011, who would become the right hand of Deputy General José Luis Bilbao until December 2012, when he was appointed Minister of Employment and Social Policies of the Basque Government. The Audience of Bizkaia now has to decide whether to call the mayor of Bilbao to testify, as requested by the popular accusation last year before it was suspend the trial.
The PNV maneuvers to save Aburto
During the investigation phase of the case, a builder involved in the plot declared that commits with the former mayor of Alonsotegi, José Luis Erezuma, the collection of some works that he never carried out. In addition, the builder admitted before the judges that the payment to settle an outstanding debt of the Consistory with his company was made through a grant from the Provincial Council. It was an aid worth 600,000 euros, intended to alleviate the damage from the floods of 2011. It was signed by Juan Mari Aburto as deputy of the Presidency.
The Bizkaia Court now has to decide whether to call the mayor of Bilbao to testify, as requested by the public prosecution last year before the trial was suspended.
As a result of the builder’s statement, José Luis Erezuma’s judicial strategy was to make the popular prosecution believe that he intended to reach an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office. To achieve this, his lawyers held talks with the prosecution as if everything was going as planned. The maneuver had one objective: to suspend the start of the trial. In this way, in addition, the PNV aborted a resolution of the Audience of Bizkaia to call Juan Mari Aburto to testify, who in his stage of deputies had signed the granting of a subsidy that ended up in the pocket of those involved in the plot of corruption. At the end of last year, Erezuma broke the principle of agreement to admit three crimes, pay what was defrauded and avoid a sentence that would lead to his entry into prison.
The PNV preceded to abort a resolution of the Court of Bizkaia to call Aburto, who had signed the granting of the subsidy that ended up in the pocket of those involved in the corruption plot, to testify
The president of the PNV, Andoni Ortuzar, considers that the “bad practice” of the former mayor of Alonsotegi “is not corruption” because “there has been no illicit enrichment by anyone.” In his opinion, the “botch” is “irregular, you don’t have to do things like this to fix a situation that had been found, because money was owed to some businessmen.”
The links between Aburto and Erezuma
Hordago-El Salto has documented that the Bilbao City Council, headed by Juan Mari Aburto, provided contracts to companies run by José Luis Erezuma, then mayor of Alonsotegi and businessman in equal parts. Between 2012 and 2019, the Bilbao City Council hired two consultants led by Erezuma, who had been charged in 2018. The Bilbao City Council awarded Ereinn and Orbere at least nine contracts for a total of 101,665 euros.
Between 2012 and 2019, the Bilbao City Council hired two consultants led by Erezuma, who had been charged in 2018
Some of the contracts were awarded with Aburto in the mayor’s office (2015-present) and with Erezuma already charged by the Barakaldo Investigating Court number 4 that investigated the case. With Erezuma out of the Alonsotegi mayor’s office, the Ereinn consultancy was awarded four contracts for a total of 60,000 euros between 2016 and 2019. Two of these contracts, for a total of 21,000 euros, were awarded when Erezuma was already charged and with Aburto at the head of the Bilbao consistory. At the beginning of 2020, Ereinn changed its company name and soon after Erezuma decided to cease as administrator of the consultancy.
Two contracts for a total of 21,000 euros were awarded when Erezuma was already charged and Aburto led the Bilbao City Council.
Likewise, the Bilbao City Council was not the only public entity that decided to inject public money into the Erezuma consultancy. The Bizkaia Provincial Council and the Basque Government managed to allocate 9,500 euros in subsidies for the Ereinn consultancy when the former mayor was already charged. The consultant’s whereabouts had been unknown and had avoided several notification attempts by the Bizkaia Treasury for the payment of taxes between 2017 and 2021.
On the other hand, the Bilbao City Council awarded four contracts between 2012 and the beginning of 2015 for a total of 32,065 euros to Orbere, another consultancy that was directed by the then mayor of Alonsotegi José Luis Erezuma. At the end of 2015, the Bilbao city council, already with Juan Mari Aburto in the mayor’s office, awarded him another contract for 9,600 euros. Soon after, Erezuma liquidated the consultancy.
The Bizkaia Provincial Council and the Basque Government managed to allocate 9,500 euros in subsidies for the Ereinn consultancy when the former mayor was already charged.
According to a court ruling to which he has had access Hordago-El Salto, the liquidation of Orbere left behind debts with the Bizkaia Treasury and Social Security. Before going bankrupt, the consultant worked for some Biscayan municipalities, Metro Bilbao and Euskotren. By then, José Luis Erezuma had expanded his business to Panama, had a private jet airline for VIP passengers and was a sponsor of the World Series that Bilbao led in 2005 on a car racing circuit.
The PNV umbrella
As it already did with those involved in the plot of the ‘De Miguel case’, the PNV did not abandon two of the three former mayors of Alonsotegi accused of corruption to their fate and helped them both professionally and legally.
Jesús Urraza was a lawyer for public office sentenced for the case of Miguel‘. Now, the jurist advises former mayor José Luis Erezuma. Ainhoa Urraza is the lawyer of the former mayor of Alonsotegi Gabino Martínez de Arenaza, accused of corruption.
Jesús Urraza was a public office lawyer convicted of the ‘De Miguel case’. Now, the jurist advises former mayor José Luis Erezuma.
Ainhoa Urraza and the lawyer Javier Beramendi, brother-in-law of José Luis Bilbao, who was the General Deputy of Bizkaia and president of the Basque Court of Public Accounts, attended a public charge sentenced for the De Miguel case. Javier Beramendi now defends the former municipal architect of Alonsotegi Alberto Zulueta, accused along with those responsible for the construction company Laneder for the plot of false works.
Despite being accused, José Luis Erezuma acted as controller and proxy of the PNV in the municipal elections held in 2019. Another of the mayors accused of the corruption plot in Alonsotegi, Gabino Martínez de Arenaza (1999-2007), was promoted to director of Tourism of Bizkaia and, later, once charged, they relocated him to the public entity Seed Capital Bizkaia. He currently works at Aurman, an agency that designed the PNV logo and also a few million euros in public contracts.
The squaring of the circle of corruption in Alonsotegi culminated during the period of Gabino Martínez de Arenaza in the direction of Tourism of Bizkaia (2007-2015). At that time, he was awarded the contract for “strategic design services for a marketing plan for a tourist product for the Bilbao-Bizkaia destination for the period 2011-2015”. These services were awarded for 51,353 euros to Orbere, the consulting firm run by the then mayor of Alonsotegi José Luis Erezuma.