According to the Royal Spanish Academy, a weir is an obstruction built in rivers to divert part of the flow for irrigation and other uses. Azud was the code name chosen by agents of the Civil Guard’s Central Operative Unit to label a new anti corruption operation linked to the diversion of public funds. An investigation began against an unidentified person who appeared at the Tax Office on January 12, 2016.
Nearly seven years later, the Azud case unfolded into 65 investigations and three police operations sanctioned by the courts, stirring political shocks across Valencia on both the left and the right. On the right, the inquiry reached Rita Barberá’s brother-in-law, José María Corbín, and later involved Alfonso Grau, the former deputy mayor of Valencia. On the left, it extended to Rafael Rubio, former PSPV spokesperson in the Valencia City Council, and José María Cataluña, PSPV finance secretary from 1999 to 2004.
The disclosure of fresh developments about the socialists prompted People’s Party leader Carlos Mazón to declare that the Azud case could be seen as a PSOE matter and may evolve into a Puig affair. PSPV-PSOE Organization Secretary A political jab elicited a reply from José Muñoz, who claimed the Azud trial was in effect a People’s Party trial connected to the Rita Barberá episode in Valencia.
Who has the better case? Is the Azud trial a judicial probe targeting the PP or the PSPV? Private data from the case frame the statements from both sides. The investigation is not solely a PSPV matter because a substantial portion concerns the People’s Party, and Azud is not exclusive to the PP, since former leaders and members from other groups are also involved. The exchange illustrates how alleged corruption crosses party lines, with some mentions also touching Blok and Unió Valenciana.
The weight of the main parties in the investigation varies. Of the 65 people under scrutiny, 12 are directly linked to the People’s Party, including the Corbín and Barberá families, the former deputy mayor Alfonso Grau and a daughter, and the former mayor of Xixona, Rosa. Also named are María Verdú and the former Town Planning Councilor of Xixona, Francisco Doménech.
True, sinister and unstable
In addition to these twelve individuals, 29 more are involved in the broader scope of the case, including businessmen who allegedly paid kickbacks for favorable treatment, privileged information, or the award of public contracts at Valencia City Council, along with municipal officials who facilitated deals.
In the PSPV-PSOE arc, seven people face investigation, including the lawyer José Luis Vera, the former finance minister José María Cataluña, the former Valencia City Council spokesperson Rafael Rubio and his wife, Joan Navarro, and José María Marugán, who held leadership roles at Acuamed and Aguas del Júcar, as well as Juan José Moragues, a former president of the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, with three additional businessmen also implicated.
There are also fourteen additional figures described as cross sectional researchers led by Jaime Febrer, a businessman who worked as a billing officer or supported various city projects.
An anonymous letter sent to the Tax Office on January 12, 2016, criticized the high living standards and business life surrounding lawyer José María Corbín, Rita Barberá’s brother-in-law. The first report from the Treasury examined Corbín Abogados and noted that much of the income derived from companies tied to Valencia City Council that had won public tenders.
The Tax Office forwarded this initial report on September 27, 2016, to Valencia’s economic crimes division, which opened a formal criminal investigation on October 4, 2016. On March 30, 2017, the Valencian Investigation Court took up the case. An order from the President of the 13th Investigation Court of Valencia on April 10, 2017 marked the official start of judicial proceedings.
Two years later, the first Azud police operation concluded on April 2, 2019, with Corbín’s arrest and near a month in custody. Analysis of seized documents and tax inspections tied to his office prompted investigators to focus on developer Jaime Febrer. The investigation examined the Valencia City Council’s alleged fraudulent cleaning contract, school operations, and a failed plan to promote a private hospital on public land, among other issues.
Evidence in the case shows that José María Corbín earned more than five million euros between 2006 and 2015, while registered expenditures totaled about 681,784 euros. Investigators also examined whether Alfonso Grau moved funds through cash purchases totaling around two million euros and about 1.5 million euros in investments and complex financial arrangements. It remains under review whether some money moved abroad.
Febrer’s discovery by Azud investigators led them to a key associate, José Luis Vera, a lawyer close to the PSPV. The evidence prompted a second police operation, which culminated on May 13, 2021, with the arrest and imprisonment of Jaime Febrer, former deputy mayor Alfonso Grau, and PSPV Valencia City Council spokesperson Rafael Rubio, accused at the time of accepting a large payment for silence. Rubio was later linked to a 300,000 euro cash arrangement.
The second operation also brought new names into the spotlight, including José María Cataluña, the former PSPV finance minister who was summoned for testimony by the UCO on May 15, 2021. Seized documents spurred the opening of a sealed file on August 8. A third operation followed in October 2022 with searches across multiple cities and company headquarters, and it raised questions about PSPV funding in the 2007 and 2008 election campaigns.
In the end, the Azud investigation stands as a sprawling cross party affair, reflecting how alleged corruption touched different factions of Valencia’s political landscape across the years.