The inspection office of the Olot City Council has de-registered 1,300 people in its first year of operation after detecting various irregularities. According to municipal sources, the main forms of fraud identified include registering in the city to access services and aid, and the "buying and selling" of registrations, particularly for immigrants, where up to eight people were registered at a single address without residing there.
Mayor Agustí Arbós has described the initiative as "very positive," highlighting the 700 inspections carried out that led to the detection of these cases. Arbós points out that registry fraud imbalances public resources and prevents services from reaching those who truly need them.
The Local Police of Olot has collaborated with the National Police to identify both individuals who registered fraudulently and those who charged for facilitating it. The objective is to "order and tidy up" the registry situation, considered the gateway to public services.
Arbós also mentioned a specific scheme detected occasionally, where individuals deregistered to access public housing from the Generalitat, thereby reducing their declared family income. This practice, however, has reportedly been corrected.
The mayor has been critical of the registry law, lamenting the obligation to register squatters. Nevertheless, he has assured that they will follow the law, applying it to everyone and penalizing fraud. Arbós welcomes that other municipalities are following Olot's example to address "unsustainable" population growth.
