The Supreme Court ratifies the four-year and eight-month prison sentence imposed on the Councilor of the Lower Council of Ribaguale in Álava for allocating EUR 145,183 from the public accounts to his personal account. The Provincial Court of Álava first condemned her for making transfers, payments and returns to her personal account.
The convicted person was the Councilor of Ribagudo between December 2009 and December 2013, one of the local entities that is part of the municipality of Ribera Baja de Álava. According to the latest census data, in 2023 it had 25 inhabitants, but at that time it did not reach twenty. The Provincial High Court of Álava and the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country have found evidence and now the Supreme Court ratifies that on 18 June 2012 "ordered, for its own benefit and without justified cause, a transfer of 25,000 euros from the account of the Administrative Board of Ribagudo to its personal account, of which it was the sole owner". That on 31 January 2013 you channel an account "unjustified" of EUR 75,000 to your personal account. And, finally, the judgment confirms that he made other returns to that personal account "for his benefit" in the amount of 45.183.61 euros.
The Supreme Court has found that the Administrative Board of Ribagudo held the money deposited in the accounts and that the act of diversion of that money is a crime of misappropriation of public goods. The judgment of 19 March 2024 stressed that "profit is evident when public funds are transferred to a proven account". With the latter judgment, the action brought by the defendant has been dismissed and must bear the costs of proceedings arising therefrom.