A FORMER Public Works minister has been named as a suspect in an Andalucian benefit scam.

Magdalena Alvarez has been formally named in an ongoing investigation into the ERE fraud case which involved officials misusing unemployment benefits.

Judge Mercedes Alaya said the former Socialist official, who also served as economic and finance chief for the Junta de Andalucia under Prime Minister Zapatero, ‘laid down the rules’ of how the money was transferred from the regional budget to the unemployment fund.

“Now is the time to take a qualitative step in the investigation and determine the participation of other persons and their activities, which would have allowed the misuse of fund transfers, resulting in the waste of public funds,” said Alaya earlier today.

Alaya has also named 19 other current and former members of Andalucia’s Socialist party accused of misusing the fund.

The year-long investigation has already has already shown that up to €136 million of the benefit fund was embezzled between 2001 and 2010.

Alaya has discovered that hundreds of people, including family members of party officials, illegally received money from the fund.

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5 COMMENTS

  1. We’d be better off without the Junta at all, it seems every opportunity for fraud and theft on an enormous scale has been exploited for years.
    Disband this Andalucian government-by-crooks and the money saved used to generate employment. Or even simply given to the poor, anything but give it to this band of pen-pushing thieves.
    Lock them up and confiscate all their property and that of all those who received the stolen benefits.

  2. When I look at the numbers (of people and euros) involved I have ask whether Madrid’s politicians are more corrupt than those in Paris, London, or Washington, or are they just less experienced, and more easily caught?

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