Orihuela mayor Pepe Vegara has denied working for the ITV company at the centre of a major alleged tax fraud case, as Spain’s tax authorities dramatically cut the amount allegedly defrauded by almost half on the opening day of the trial.
The case, which began at the Santa Lucía courthouse, sees Vegara and four businessmen in the dock accused of tax fraud and falsifying commercial documents. Prosecutors had been seeking seven years in prison for the mayor, who is listed in the case as a representative of Estación ITV Vega Baja, along with three other company figures and an intermediary.
But the first hearing delivered immediate surprises.
The State Attorney’s Office, representing the interests of the Spanish Treasury, submitted a new report by a tax inspector which significantly reduces the alleged fraud linked to the purchase of 100,000 promotional diaries.
According to the case file, the company allegedly billed each diary at 17 euros, despite their real value being just 1.70 euros. The original proceedings referred to an alleged fraud of 917,000 euros. The new report, however, says only 488,000 euros can now be proven.
That change could have a major impact on the sentence requested by prosecutors. Under Spanish law, tax fraud penalties are tougher when the amount exceeds 600,000 euros, carrying a possible sentence of between two and six years. Below that threshold, the penalty range falls to one to five years.
The reduction removes, at least for now, the aggravated tax offence from the case, because prosecutors can no longer prove the higher alleged fraud figure, the alleged VAT fraud, or the existence of fictitious liabilities.
The case dates back more than a decade and a half. The first tax inspection began in 2010, examining events said to have taken place in 2005. Defence lawyers stressed the long delay, arguing that time has seriously damaged their ability to defend the accused.
One of the most striking revelations was that several key figures connected to the original investigation have died. They include the tax inspector who launched the proceedings, the manager of the company’s auditing firm, and the two representatives of the company that supplied the diaries allegedly used in the fraud.
Vegara’s lawyer, Pilar Hernández, also introduced what could become a central defence argument. She presented the mayor’s employment history report, arguing that when the alleged offences took place in 2005, Vegara was not working for Estación ITV Vega Baja, despite being described in the prosecution case as joint managing director and company representative.
The defence also hit out at events outside the courtroom. Hernández said people who had been identified putting up leaflets in central Orihuela against the mayor the day before the hearing were among the prosecution witnesses due to testify.
The leaflets reportedly claimed that this time Vegara would not “escape” the trial, which had already been postponed three times since January 2025. The defence said those people had been identified and that videos exist, arguing this could affect the credibility of their testimony.
The hearing was expected to move quickly into witness evidence, but the preliminary legal arguments ran on for so long that they will continue at the next session.
Defence lawyers asked for the trial to be suspended, arguing that the new tax report changes fundamental aspects of the case. The judge rejected the request, ruling that the report can be challenged and examined during the upcoming hearings.
Lawyers for the accused also argued that the proceedings should be declared null and void on several grounds. They claimed possible administrative prescription of the alleged tax offences, because the investigation began more than four years after the events. They also alleged procedural unfairness, saying new reports were added after the judicial investigation had already started, and that the tax file was not incorporated into the case until 2017, eight years after a court in Orihuela first opened proceedings.
The defence further claimed the case moved forward before the accused had a proper chance to testify, and that when they were first called, they did not fully know what they were being accused of and chose not to answer questions.
Prosecutors defended the replacement of expert witnesses, arguing that deaths and other unforeseen circumstances have required new experts to appear in place of the original tax inspector and auditor.
Vegara arrived at court calm, saying he had “the serenity and confidence of someone who knows everything will be fine” and insisting that “the truth will come out.”
By the time he left, the mayor appeared visibly satisfied.
“The assessment speaks for itself,” he told reporters, before adding that his lawyers should be the ones to give the full legal view.
The trial is due to continue at Orihuela Criminal Court No. 1, with further hearings scheduled for 29 May and 5 June, following repeated postponements.
