The Arrecife Council officially denied the claims made by Juan Pérez, president of the Insular Federation of Latin Sailing Boats of Lanzarote, in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. Pérez announced the suspension of regattas and sporting events due to a “lack of financial resources from the capital’s institution.” The Sports Department, led by the spokesperson for the People’s Party (PP), Eli Merino, asserted that the Federation attempted to justify a nominal subsidy for 2023 using questionable invoices or false identities.

Details of the Allegations

The Sports Department clarified in the same note that the Insular Federation received a nominated subsidy of €25,000 from the Council’s budget approved in spring 2023. After the local elections in May 2023, the current mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, took office in July, while Eli Merino assumed the Sports Department that summer, two years ago. “Under the current Municipal Government of Arrecife, the aforementioned amount of €25,000 was paid to the Insular Federation of Latin Sailing Boats to develop the project titled ‘Barquillos de Vela Latina.’ According to subsidy legislation, the Federation was required to justify this amount,” the municipal government stated.

Justification Process and Findings

According to their explanation, the beneficiary entity submitted the necessary documentation on 20 February 2024, along with amendments following requests made on 11, 18, and 27 June 2024. The Municipal Intervention of the Council issued a report on 22 October 2024, number 2024-1197, indicating a negative but non-suspensive view on the liquidation of the €25,000 subsidy. “The Sports Department reminds that the drafting of the necessary documentation to justify a subsidy is the responsibility of the Federation. Therefore, any mistakes or inaccuracies are their responsibility. Those in charge of the Federation cannot make decisions based on documents of expenses that are not properly substantiated, especially when the Council’s report indicates that the Federation attempted to justify bank transfers made to different individuals and accounts than those issuing the invoices to the Federation,” the report details. “In the decree signed by the Sports Department requiring Federation officials to return unsubstantiated amounts, they are reminded that they cannot consider certain expenses and invoices as valid if they differ from the actual situation upon justification analysis. The Council reiterates that the law is binding for associations receiving public funding.”

Local Government’s Position

Consequently, the local government firmly asserts that the Insular Federation of Latin Sailing Boats of Lanzarote has not been denied support. “On the contrary, the law states that when a subsidy has not been justified and has unfavourable reports from the Municipal Intervention, the Federation cannot apply for new public grants, as also occurred with those for 2024, due to pending justification for 2023,” they reiterated in their statement.

“During these months, the Federation, aware of such requirements and unfavourable Intervention reports, has tried to attribute a ‘lack of financial resources from the Arrecife Council’ to the mayor and the sports councillor during this mandate, when the truth, supported by evidence, is that the Federation and its past and present officials have not provided the actual documents that would allow for a favourable audit of those expenses. The Insular Federation of Latin Sailing also submitted an application for sports subsidies from the last budget of 2024, which was not approved due to incomplete justification of the 2023 amounts, as stipulated by public subsidy law,” they emphasised.

Demand for Reimbursement

This Tuesday, councillor Eli Merino, reviewing the Intervention reports, issued a decree comprising 25 pages outlining all the failings by the Federation, demanding the return of €18,596.87 to the Arrecife Council. The analysis conducted by the Intervention indicated a lack of supporting invoices for the mentioned Federation expenses. The remaining amount of €6,403.13, totalling €25,000 for the subsidy, is justified according to the decree pertaining to the reimbursement of €18,596.87.

Finally, the Arrecife Council reminds that the Auditing Court of the Canary Islands, in its auditing reports to various municipalities, resolves that subsidies must be justified, and if expenses are not substantiated, recipients must reimburse the grants received to the granting administration.