PP and Vox will discuss the future of the Anti-Fraud Agency as the Cortes groups move toward naming a new head. The process is underway. Consell, a two-member party, has questioned the agency in the past and will consider potential changes soon. They have not ruled out reducing its powers or even dissolving it.
Vox Ombudsman José María Llanos stated on Tuesday that his party distrusts the Anti-Fraud body. He argued that these doubts contributed to Vox not presenting a candidate to replace the leadership and suggested the next step would be to negotiate with Consell about the position, possible reorganization, or disappearance. Llanos added that one option could be to fold their expertise into a broader direction.
His counterpart from the PPCV, Miguel Barrachina, refrained from going that far but questioned the impartiality of the supervisory body during Botànic’s tenure. He remarked that the body could have achieved more, while insisting that the PP aims to renew Joan Llinares and ensure that Antifraud operates with professionalism, integrity, and full commitment to all parties in its investigations.
They do not know the recommended candidates
Regarding the process for selecting a new director, Barrachina and Llanos said they did not know the proposed candidates and declined to respond to criticisms from the left about the closeness of one candidate, Eduardo Beut, to the popular movement at the time, former president Eduardo Zaplana. The PP spokesman noted that Beut and Gustavo Segura were suggested by civil organizations, but that he could not repeat names and did not know who was being discussed.
Llanos echoed that stance. He stated he did not know the candidates and that two names existed, neither of which had been offered by any group. He pledged to review their CVs, assess suitability, and make a decision.
PSPV and Compromís already know the candidates and continue to question Beut’s closeness to the PP. Socialist ombudsman José Muñoz said the proposal signals that the PP desires a person who strongly trusts him, calling it a return to a past where the public tried to control institutions that remain beyond reach. This criticism followed the calendar proposed by the PP and Vox at the Ombudsman Board on Tuesday, which socialists say aims to limit Carlos Mazón’s control sessions.
Joan Baldoví, speaking for Compromís, quipped about the nomination’s timing, calling it surprising and noting that it was submitted at the last minute of the final day by a PP activist who collaborated with Zaplana and served as a partner in a company. He referenced this as the head of the former president’s cabinet.
Meanwhile, Baldoví pointed to Segura’s profile, which was recommended by three associations described as nonpartisan and proposed by civil society.