Judge Mercedes Alaya has sentenced former socialist councillor Francisco Vallejo to three and a half years in prison for granting an irregular loan of €1.2 million to cover salaries of former employees of Vitelcom. The ruling states that the aim was to 'buy social peace'.
Judge Mercedes Alaya, known for overseeing the ERE case, has once again focused on the management of public funds in Andalusia. As president of the Seventh Section of the Audiencia de Sevilla, she has sentenced former socialist councillor Francisco Vallejo to three and a half years in prison, who had previously been imprisoned for the €680 million ERE case.
A €1.2 million loan without procedure
The events date back to 2008, when Invercaria, the public venture capital company of the Junta de Andalucía, granted a participatory loan of €1,180,000 to the Málaga-based company Servivation SA. The ruling describes the operation as "arbitrary and illegal", carried out with "flagrant absence of procedure".
The objective, according to the ruling, was to cover salaries of former employees of Vitelcom, a phone factory that went into crisis in 2006 and generated a labour conflict in the Málaga Technology Park. The judge asserts that Vallejo "allowed rampant absenteeism" to "achieve social peace and ensure that the conflict ceased to be news".
Sentences and compensations
In addition to the prison sentence, the ruling imposes on Vallejo absolute disqualification for six and a half years. It also sentences the former president of Invercaria, Tomás Pérez-Sauquillo, to six years of disqualification. Both must pay a joint compensation of €1,180,000.
The judge has also sentenced two businessmen involved in the operation. The ruling is not final and can be appealed to the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the TSJA.
Background and context
Francisco Vallejo was released from prison in July 2024 after the Constitutional Court annulled his seven-year sentence for the ERE case. Now, this new sentence brings him back into the spotlight. For citizens, this case highlights the need to control the use of public funds and avoid political decisions outside the law. The compensation, although substantial, will hardly compensate for the damage to public finances.
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