The Móstoles City Council has announced that it will appeal the closure of the case opened against former Mayor Noelia Posse (PSOE) and eight other council members from her previous administration for the economic damages caused in the ‘ITV Case’ before the Court of Auditors.
This decision comes after the Court of Auditors recently closed the case, stating that any financial responsibility arising from the agreement will be resolved in another administrative-contencious procedure initiated by the City Council through a pending appeal.
«The commitment of this municipal government is to safeguard public funds and protect the general interest of the people of Móstoles. For this reason, the Móstoles City Council will challenge the decision of the Court of Auditors,» municipal sources told EFE, emphasizing their intention to proceed with the legal process.
Móstoles City Council Confirms the Harmful Nature of the Agreement that Forgave Over 2 Million to ITV
Initially, the Court of Auditors had accepted the City Council’s lawsuit to demand financial accountability from Posse and the former councilors Dolores Triviño, Rebeca Prieto, Marisa Ruiz, Alex Martín, David Muñoz, Beatriz Benavides, Nati Gómez, Aitor Perlines, and treasurer Francisco Javier Torner.
The investigating delegate initially determined a financial impact of €555,162 in principal, plus €111,969 in interest attributed to the non-payment of fees by the concessionaire ITV Móstoles for the years 2015 and 2018, to be jointly paid by Posse and the accused council members.
Despite the Prosecutor’s support for the lawsuit, the new local government, formed by the PP and Vox parties, approved an agreement in 2023 to reverse the debt forgiveness in the ‘ITV Case’ and initiated a legal claim through the administrative-contencious route to recover the damages to the municipal coffers.
As a result, the ongoing administrative-contencious procedure initiated by the City Council, through a pending appeal before the Administrative Court number 27 of Madrid, led the tribunal’s investigating counselor to declare the completion of the reimbursement process.
Móstoles Agrees to Reverse the Debt Forgiveness to ITV Company
In this regard, it is concluded that «if the administrative act is declared null in the administrative-contencious process, the local entity can reclaim the forgiven debt in full, avoiding any permanent financial harm.»
Conversely, if the court validates the legality of the agreement, «there would be no financial liability as the act would have been judicially endorsed.»
Therefore, the Court of Auditors believes it is not appropriate at this time to determine whether there was personally attributable financial harm to the former members of the municipal government and has closed the case, also imposing legal costs on the Móstoles City Council.
This investigation began in 2020 after the municipal auditor, who was dismissed shortly after – a dismissal recently overturned by the TSJM -, reported to the Court of Auditors «the alleged non-collection of certain fees owed by the company ITV Móstoles.»
Móstoles to Revoke the Debt Forgiveness Advocated by Socialist Noelia Posse that Triggered the ‘ITV Case’
Furthermore, a criminal investigation remains open, initially closed but later reopened after the Madrid Provincial Court ordered in March 2024 the Instruction Court number 1 to revoke the initial dismissal of the case and convert it into a Simplified Procedure.
After several rejected appeals, the case is pending the Instruction Court to receive the accusations from both the Prosecutor and the plaintiff and issue the decision to convert the case into a Simplified Procedure, leading to the trial against the mayor and the other council members under investigation.
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