Julio Pérez, Minister of Justice and Security and spokesman for the Government of CanArias, admitted yesterday that he participated in one of the boards of directors of the Cabildo de Tenerife Parque Ciencia y Tecnológico company, which approved the sale of two plots of land for CD Tenerife’s Ciudad Deportiva, but that he “delegated his vote” to another advisor and therefore understands that it is exempt from liability. The Prosecutor’s Office has filed a complaint for prevarication and embezzlement of public funds against the socialist politician and nine other charges, including the former presidents of the Cabildo Ricardo Melchior and Carlos Alonso (CC), concluding that they voted in favor of the purchase of some land in Geneto, La Laguna, even knowing that they had lost public interest and that the operation was going to cause serious economic damage to the company. In fact, the Cabildo entity has not yet overcome its serious financial problems since the purchase of the farms.
Pérez intervened in the debate of the board of directors in which it was approved to acquire the land
Julio Pérez attended the board of directors of the Science and Technology Park on December 28, 2011, one of the four investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office, as deputy mayor of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council. One of the agreements that appear in the minutes is that the council “is aware” – guarantees – that, in execution of the agreements of two previous councils –May 19 and July 25, 2011–, the two plots of land for the CD Tenerife Sports City will be purchased. The Minister of Justice of the Canarian Government specifies that he did not participate in the vote. “I didn’t vote. I intervened in the previous debate, made a series of objections and then left. Nor had he intervened or attended the previous councils in which that purchase was decided, “explains the spokesman for the regional Executive.
Julio Pérez, who in his long careerpolitical history he was also Secretary of State for Justice with the Zapatero government, He delegated his vote to another socialist member of that board of directors, José Luis Delgado, at that time the Island Councilor for Roads and today the General Director of Road Infrastructure for the Regional Executive. “Delegating does not make the delegator responsible for the acts of the delegate,” Julio Pérez clarifies. “Before I left, they told me that the acquisition was not going to be agreed on in that council, but only the council was going to be informed, so it can be assumed that the vote would not be used to agree on the acquisition,” explains Pérez, who thus transferring the responsibility of his vote in that meeting to Delgado.
Understands that the responsibility for voting in favor of the purchase falls on José Luis Delgado
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Provincial Court understands, on the contrary, that although he was a delegate, Julio Pérez voted in favor, which implies his support for the urban operation in which the Public Ministry observes urban irregularities. That is why he has requested to call him to testify as being investigated. The head of the Ministry of Justice not only attended that board of directors. He also intervened on the point related to the acquisition of Geneto’s lots before leaving and delegating to Delgado. He himself recognized it yesterday: «I said that if the land was for a university reserve [una idea que terminó desechándose en ese mismo consejo por imposibilidad de la ordenación urbanística], the appropriate thing was that they be acquired directly by the Cabildo».
The minutes also state that he asked if the board of directors of July 25, 2011 was legally constituted since municipal, insular and regional elections have just been held, which meant that the public positions were acting, mainly Ricardo Melchior as president of the Cabildo and the Science Park, and Carlos Alonso, as Minister of Economy. The public company’s lawyer clarified that both were legally empowered to do so.
Before becoming a director, he was legal advisor to the public company that acquired the farms
“I made several objections and asked if the acquisition was being decided at that time,” Julio Pérez clarified yesterday about the purchase of the La Laguna land, to add that he had “many reservations.” «They answered me that no, that no agreement was adopted there, but rather that it was reported that the agreement had been adopted previously».
Time after the operation that the Prosecutor’s Office has now denounced, Julio Pérez was legal advisor to the company Parque Ciencia y Tecnológico. His law firm, Abogados Asociados Viera y Clavijo 62, won a contest but the contract was terminated after several years working for the public company that now focuses the investigations of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
