The party considers the events known in recent weeks to be "extremely serious" and to affect not only the mayor's position but also citizens' democratic trust. Millorem l'Ampolla recalls that when it became known in February that the Prosecutor's Office had filed a complaint against the mayor, the group chose to maintain an attitude of prudence and institutional respect until the complaint's content was known. Now, after it has become public that Arasa is being investigated for alleged corruption in the management of the Town Hall's funds, the group believes silence is no longer acceptable.
As the municipal group has indicated, the judicial investigation includes alleged crimes of prevarication, and the Prosecutor's Office has also pointed to a possible crime of embezzlement of public funds. In light of this, Millorem l'Ampolla argues that the town has the right to receive clear and immediate explanations. Furthermore, the group's members have criticized that the mayor, the governing team, and Junts per l’Ampolla have not publicly appeared to provide explanations, despite the institutional and political significance of the case.
The group also highlighted the political gravity of the fact that the investigation affects not only the mayor but also his closest political circle, as the local president of Junts per l’Ampolla is also being investigated. For Millorem l’Ampolla, this is not just a management issue, but a political crisis that also implicates the local party structure, which may have endorsed these practices for years.
All the irregularities denounced by their municipal group are documented in reports from the Office of Anti-Fraud of Catalonia (OAC), with expert documentation amounting to almost 500 pages and containing "very forceful" conclusions. "When we warned the government and the mayor, in different council meetings, about all the possible irregularities we were detecting, they refused to correct them and treated us with contempt. Now we see that the OAC not only confirms the irregularities we brought to the attention of the Prosecutor's Office, but has detected many more," they stated.
Representatives of Millorem l’Ampolla testified before the judge last Tuesday and have defended their transparent attitude throughout the process. The group believes that the facts known so far and verified by the OAC point to an accumulation of serious irregular actions that could be part of a premeditated system, and are awaiting judicial assessment to determine the exact criminal classification.
