Acquittal of former director of Suma, José Manuel Bonilla, splitting contracts is already certain, so he is cleared of this crime for sure. Despite the possibility of appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which was the only party to bring the accusation, declined to appeal.
As this newspaper previously published, the Second Circuit of the Alicante State Court acquitted Bonilla of the charge of perjury and decided to split the contracts. In the decision, it was emphasized that the contracts with the two traders were not contrary to legal regulations, and it was emphasized that even the defendants established control mechanisms to detect possible irregularities.
The Ministry of Public Affairs wanted Bonilla 12 years disqualification. The accusation of Suma’s former director led to his dismissal as head of the tax governing body, which occurred just months after Carlos Mazón assumed the presidency of the Provincial Assembly. The prosecutor himself expressed at the hearing whether the investigation was initiated upon an anonymous complaint from someone who knows very well how the Administration works.
Suspicious contracts signed with two different companies Between 2016 and 2018. The first consultancy and consultancy work carried out on the Human Resources; The second is production, management and Advertising promotion of content for communication both online and offline. The Prosecutor’s Office argued that these small contracts had been artificially divided in order to reduce their amounts below the amount. 18,000 euros, the economic limit that will force these services to be put out to tender. Some unproven excesses for Chapter Two magistrates. Neither a relationship with traders has been proven to allow it to be concluded that there was a previous intent to benefit them, nor has the choice of contract been proven to go beyond the regulations governing public contracts.
It was stated in the decision there was no evidence that the defendant had a previous relationship It will allow for the removal of any desire to benefit them, either directly or through irregular contracts, with those responsible for both companies. During the hearing, Bonilla admitted that she knew the people in charge of both companies, but the only reason for hiring them was because of good references of their professional work.
According to the Chamber, although the contracts reproduce the same terms in their titles and general attributes, “they are not the same in the projects being developed.” So the decision reminded that, The law does not generally prohibit fractionation and the absolute forbids only one kind of division, as is done for the purpose of defrauding mandatory advertising and contractual regulations”, emphasizing that “what the norm forbids is the artificial division of an expense into several files that form a union. “, something that is not in this case.
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The magistrates specified what those responsible for Suma should oversee.and contracts were in compliance with regulations “did not appreciate the cleavage marks” and “would have reflected this if they had noticed”. “They added that, in fact, the defendant introduced a computerized mechanism whose purpose was to prevent such irregularities.” Evaluating the statements of all witnesses throughout the trial, the magistrate emphasized that all Suma employees who participated in the development of contracts confirmed that. finally emerged the need to re-contract with the same traders and with a different object. The court therefore concluded that no indications of the defendant’s behavior were found to circumvent legal controls to facilitate the unlawful division of contracts.
In the case of human resources consultancy contracts, the first contract was signed in 2016 for the amount of 12,200 Euros after Bonilla came to Suma to advise management on optimizing the organizational structure, as well as analyzing the talents and skills of the staff and possible areas for improvement. to develop their potential. The latter was signed in 2017 to start a type of conflict mediation service as there was overload and too much pressure, a situation caused among staff. The third was signed before the creation of a new regional area in 2018 and at the request of the official responsible for the newly created department. In digital marketing services, an agreement was signed with the second company for personnel training and the contracted company carried more specific projects, not Suma’s digital communication.