- In Cantabria, José Luis Blanco of API Mobility was arrested along with other people for being involved in the network of alleged corruption in the hiring of public works. This company has been awarded, among others, the road maintenance contract for an amount of EUR 11.3 million.
The echo of the political and media scandal that has led to the dismissal of the Public Works Advisor of the Government of Cantabria can reach Gipuzkoa. On 22 February, the Spanish Police inspected the headquarters of Public Works of the Government of Cantabria and arrested eight people for alleged irregularities in the award of public contracts in their Roads Services.
Among the detainees were Rucecan, representatives of the companies La Encina and API Mobility and a senior official of the Government of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Díez, Chief of Road Service, presumed creator of the network. According to the investigation, it created a fictional company on behalf of its wives and daughters to receive their favors through it.
The judge has unveiled the secret to the summary, and the car says that Díez may have charged 1.4 million euros from 2019 in collaboration with these companies, allegedly to make “photocopies”. When they examined their house they found 530,000 euros and a ticket delivery machine.
API Mobility paid the luxury car rental to Miguel Ángel Díez, head of the Highways of Cantabria service, and to his family
The judge has released the detainees on charges of co-done and money laundering, except for Díez, who has ordered the imprisonment of money laundering, fraud and prevarication.
In addition, it has extended the investigation and given companies a deadline to appear with the attorney and attorney 5 of Santander. According to TVE, the official was illegally remunerated by a dozen companies from 2003 to 2011.
Api Mobility, known in Gipuzkoa
One of the companies that accuse Cantabria of participating in the corruption network, API Mobility, S.A., is known in Gipuzkoa for its maintenance on roads.
In addition to this territory, in Álava, Bizkaia and Navarra the same company performs repairs and maintenance of roads both for the foreign institutions and for the municipalities.
Alarms have been turned on when road employees report this fact on their Twitter account.
Cantabria jumps of corruption #Gipuzkoa.
One of the detainees is the manager of a road maintenance company of @Gipuzkoa@MarkelOlano @a_oiarbide@eajvgipuzkoa @PSEGIPUZKOA @ehbildu @PP @Jon Dono? pic.twitter.com/e246Qk6eLb
— Corrupt Service (@serviciosustela) March 6, 2023
José Luis Blanco Mazagatos represents the API, detained in the police operation. API paid Díez and his family members for luxury car rental, according to the agency Europa Press.
The company currently has at least one award from the Department of Road Infrastructure of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. The company Campezo Obras y Servicios is a UTE Urola-Debaldea that maintains and exploits the roads and bidegorris of these areas.
On August 3, 2021, the Provincial Council awarded him services for two years of €11.3 million and soon the contract was formalized by the Provincial Deputy of Road Infrastructure, Aintzane Oiarbide, and José Luis Blanco.
Specifically, according to the contract, in 2021 the Department of Road Infrastructure was to pay this TEU EUR 1.4 million, in 2022 EUR 5.6 million and in 2023 EUR 4.2 million.
Urola-Debaldea obtained the highest score for his offer of machinery, which allowed him to win the tender, as stated in the assessment report signed by the Chief of the Conservation Service (pdf).
In this context, the road maintenance staff of Gipuzkoa reported that the vehicles contributed by the UTE did not meet the minimum standards set out in the specifications.
Part of the building cartel
The contract between Oiarbide and Blanco is signed on 6 and 7 September 2021, as stated in the platform of the Contracting Profile of the Basque Government. By then it was known that API Mobility, S.A. had been sanctioned by the National Competition and Markets Commission of Spain.
In addition to Gipuzkoa, the same company works to repair and maintain roads in Álava, Bizkaia and Navarra, both for the foreign institutions and for the municipalities
On 20 August, when the service was awarded to Urola-Debaldea, the aforementioned Spanish public entity imposed a fine of EUR 61.28 million on a dozen construction companies for the construction of a cartel for many years when it was presented to public tenders for the maintenance and operation of roads, the API being the most fined, EUR 11.8 million.
In addition to the financial fine, the Competition and Markets Committee prohibited these companies from concluding contracts with public administrations.
In response to a question from EH Bildu, Oiarbide clarified at the General Boards that three sanctioned companies were awarded dozens of jobs in Gipuzkoa over the past ten years, including APIs.
According to data provided by the Deputy for Road Infrastructure, a minimum of 11 road maintenance, territorial network signalling or rail conditioning contracts have been awarded to the company in Gipuzkoa since 2011.
With José Luis Blanco, who could be involved in the supposed corruption network in the Public Works of Cantabria, and with the suspect company API Mobility, the Department of Road Infrastructure of Gipuzkoa has maintained a working relationship for many years.