SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 19th March (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Santa Cruz de Tenerife has supported the defence’s request to close the case regarding ‘incentivized dismissals’ of eight employees of Casinos de Tenerife in 2019 and 2020, which was brought to light by the Cabildo Government team (PSOE-CS) in the previous leadership.
In a letter addressed to the Court of Instruction Number 5 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, accessed by Europa Press, it was mentioned that the three casinos in Puerto de la Cruz, Las Américas, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife were facing a “critical” financial situation. This led to the necessity of reducing the wage expenses, which were over 60% higher than the national average for such establishments.
During the investigation, the manager stated that the decision to terminate the contracts of employees with poor performance was made, despite the challenges in proving the justifications for the dismissals.
Prior conciliation processes were conducted through Semac, and it was mandated that compensation for each worker should not exceed one year of service per individual, as per the manager’s instructions.
The total compensation paid amounted to 292,888 euros, significantly lower than the legal maximum of 888,717.87 euros, with a total annual salary cost of 340,199.56 euros.
The Prosecutor’s Office highlighted that in order for embezzlement to be proven, damage to the public treasury must be demonstrated. In this particular case, it was argued that the actions resulted in a societal “benefit” due to the reduction in the overall salary expenses. Any harm caused was considered “reckless” rather than falling under the classification of the Penal Code.
