The Guardia Civil has arrested a 52-year-old official from the Santa Pola City Council who is charged with 19 bribery crimes committed during the last decade.

Specifically, the investigation has found that the woman misappropriated some 40,000 euro from local subsidies and money from businessmen in exchange for approving or speeding up her hiring at events.

The City Council itself initiated the investigation after receiving a complaint from a company and an individual. The woman is also charged with two crimes of forgery of documents, a crime of misappropriation of economic amounts and a crime of usurpation.

Likewise, a statement has been taken from those responsible for various companies that were hired during the time that the accused exercised her functions, for which the directors of two of them, two 58-year-old men, have been investigated as alleged perpetrators.

The proceedings have been brought before the Court of Instruction of Elche. The alleged perpetrators are free with charges, while the official, who worked at the City Council for two decades and who had been on medical leave for a few months, has already been removed from her duties.