The senator and former president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, has communicated in writing his decision not to appear before the Senate’s Commission for Extradition Requests, to which he had been summoned this Tuesday. With this, he concludes the hearing process, leaving the decision regarding the lifting of his parliamentary privilege—requested by the Supreme Court—in the hands of the full Senate, scheduled for 30th September.
In the submitted document, San Ginés expressed his “absolute confidence in the rule of law” and his willingness to cooperate with the judiciary to clarify his innocence “without the shadow of doubt that typically surrounds any criminal process.”
The judicial procedure concerning the senator revolves around two allegations: presumed perjury and false reporting. Regarding the latter, San Ginés insists that he never filed any complaint and recalls that it was Astrid Pérez, then a councillor for the Centres of Art, Culture, and Tourism (CACT) and current president of the PP of Lanzarote, who acted in compliance with a management board agreement.
As for the perjury charge, the former president of the Cabildo and current Secretary-General of CC anticipates maintaining his account in court, which coincides with his testimony in the case against Carlos Espino and later before the Supreme Court. According to his statement, what he presented was corroborated by official documentation and by the testimonies of the economic and financial director of the CACT.
San Ginés argues that the complaint against him is politically motivated and emphasises that neither the complainant nor the management board members who supported the decision to initially file the complaint are included in the case.
Contracts under Scrutiny
The case falls within the investigation into contracts awarded to companies linked to the complainant’s father, which, according to expert reports, included overpricing and payments for services without contracts. San Ginés points out that these discrepancies were the basis for the judicial actions against the former socialist councillor Carlos Espino.
On 30th September, the Senate will decide on lifting Pedro San Ginés’s parliamentary privilege, a key step for the Supreme Court to continue investigating the case.
