The mayor of València, María José Catalá, and her team remain silent in the face of Vox’s mess with the accounts of the previous legislature. In mid-December, the socialist spokesperson, Sandra Gómez, revealed the content of a report from the Municipal Intervention in which it was warned that the municipal group that is now part of the local government had “left 16,874 euros unjustified.” The letter also demanded the reimbursement of these amounts.

Vox defends that there were no irregularities, although they warn that the current spokesperson and his team were not part of the previous corporation. In fact, the money back has already materialized. However, doubts regarding what happened to the money and the mayor’s inaction have provoked criticism from the opposition. In this context, the complaints of the former Vox councilor in the City Council, Vicente Montañez, have added more fuel to the fire.

It is clear that the PP does not want to put pressure on the four Voxist councilors whose votes are key to carrying out day-to-day management on this issue. And the popular people already know how their partners spend their money in this agreement which, as both parties recognize, is a marriage of convenience where some do not trust the others.

Vox reiterates that the 17,000 euros have been returned and point out that they have not had to give “any type of explanations” to the PP. Of course, they admit that the Valencia City Council notified them of the need to return the amounts established by the municipal report or that, otherwise, “they would act accordingly.”

Thus, Vox has decided to go on the attack. On Thursday he announced that in the next plenary session he will present a motion to request that “an independent entity rigorously audit each of the invoices that the PSPV, Compromís, PP and Vox groups have used to justify their expenses.” His spokesperson, Juanma Badenas, also proposed “heart attack audits” of the foundations and companies managed by Joan Ribó and Sandra Gómez and that are now under his jurisdiction.

He came forward and thus diverted attention from the statements of the former Vox councilor Vicente Montañez, now very critical of his party, who had asked the mayor, María José Catalá, to forward the report of the Municipal Intervention which, in his opinion, reveals possible irregularities of the municipal group Vox, along with all the documents that support it.

In a statement, Montañez pointed out that while he was part of the municipal group, it had a single bank account and did not have any cash. Montañez indicated that, given these alleged irregularities, the second deputy mayor and spokesperson for Vox, Juanma Badenas, “only has to resign,” or be dismissed by Catalá.

The aforementioned denied the major: “There are no ghost accounts nor is there a euro missing from the municipal accounts.”

In response to this intersection of accusations, PSPV councilor Borja Sanjuán once again demanded this week that Mayor Catalá intervene now in the face of irregularities in Vox’s accounts. For the councilor, the mayor is trying to cover up her government partner for the possible commission of crimes such as irregular financing and embezzlement.

For its part, the municipal group Compromís announced that it will present a motion in the Finance Commission to disapprove Badenas, for its denial of the Municipal Intervention reports.