PP mayor of Santiago resigns over tax fraud accusations
Conde Roa maintains he did not benefit from non-payment of VAT on real estate deals
The mayor of Santiago Compostela, Gerardo Conde Roa of the Popular Party (PP), handed in his resignation on Monday after he was indicted for tax fraud on charges that he allegedly tried to avoid declaring nearly 300,000 euros he made from property sales.
“This city doesn’t deserve a mayor who is in my situation,” he said in a written statement. “I am withdrawing from public life, clean and without any personal gain.”
Conde Roa, who took office on July 1, informed his PP colleagues about the decision over the weekend but didn’t make it public until Monday.
Deputy Mayor Ángel Currás will fill Conde Roa’s spot until the PP bench on the city council can elect a new mayor. That decision was made by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP regional premier in Galicia, and Currás, after they both met with Conde Roa on Sunday.
Judge José Vázquez Taín of Santiago charged Conde Roa for failing to pay the Treasury some 291,000 euros in value added tax (VAT) that was charged on 61 property sales that his real estate company completed in 2010.
On April 9, the outgoing mayor acknowledged that the funds had been used instead to pay off debts owed by his ailing firm, but denied that he had lined his own pockets with the money.
Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo
¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción?
Si continúas leyendo en este dispositivo, no se podrá leer en el otro.
FlechaTu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo y solo puedes acceder a EL PAÍS desde un dispositivo a la vez.
Si quieres compartir tu cuenta, cambia tu suscripción a la modalidad Premium, así podrás añadir otro usuario. Cada uno accederá con su propia cuenta de email, lo que os permitirá personalizar vuestra experiencia en EL PAÍS.
En el caso de no saber quién está usando tu cuenta, te recomendamos cambiar tu contraseña aquí.
Si decides continuar compartiendo tu cuenta, este mensaje se mostrará en tu dispositivo y en el de la otra persona que está usando tu cuenta de forma indefinida, afectando a tu experiencia de lectura. Puedes consultar aquí los términos y condiciones de la suscripción digital.
