Torrevieja Council will not respond to the recommendations of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency in relation to the Bono Consumo commercial voucher scheme, because, they claim, they are just that: recommendations.
The Anti-Fraud Agency is concerned over possible irregularities in the granting of aid to the local merchant association Apymeco for the organisation of separate consumer bonus campaigns in 2021 and 2022.
The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency investigated the matter following an anonymous complaint that indicated that the Council had allegedly modified the ‘ad hoc’ base so that Apymeco was the only association that could attend and qualify for the subsidy.
The Agency asked the Council to request Apymeco return 283,218 euro. It considers that this entity, contrary to the General Subsidies Law, commissioned third parties on account of the aid granted and that these would not have been duly justified. Subcontracting to a company expert in payment gateways to a local computer scientist who, they add, have been brought to the attention of the Tax Agency.
The Consistory states, not only that it has collaborated with the Agency in all the requests they have made, but they also reported to their legal services that they do not consider that any refund is appropriate. “After a thorough analysis of the files carried out by the City Council’s Legal Advice Area, it has been concluded that it is ‘inappropriate’ to instruct an ex officio review procedure.”
Torrevieja is currently immersed in the ninth consumer bonus campaign. The complaint extends until the sixth. But for the latter, according to municipal sources in a statement, the Council has introduced “some modifications to further guarantee the principles of competition and objective items linked to the management and execution of the program and the result have been added to the selection criteria.” -they emphasise- is identical to the previous eight calls of the program, that is, a single association concurrent to the call (Apymeco).
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