A judge is now investigating if the mayor of Altafulla bribed a councilor from Junts

BarcelonaJudicial proceedings are accumulating in Altafulla. In addition to the case about the awards to former minister Joan Ignasi Elena and former leader of Initiative Joan Herrera, which also involves the Commons deputy Félix Alonso and former minister Salvador Milà, now another case directly splashes the mayor, Jordi Molinera (ERC), and councilor Tomàs Serra, who was elected by Junts and continues in government as an unaffiliated member after his former party left the coalition government last year. In fact, this move is what is now in the sights of the courts of El Vendrell, where an investigation has been opened following a complaint by the president of Junts in Altafulla for alleged crimes of bribery and prevarication. In an order to which ARA has had access, the judge summons Serra and Molinera to testify as investigated parties in this case on January 2, 2027.

As ARA already explained, Junts' complaint considers that Serra's appointment as first deputy mayor was a "political quid pro quo" for having abstained in the municipal budget vote, instead of voting against as Junts had decided, which allowed the accounts to pass. The judge also believes there could be a crime in these actions, and will also question the president of the Junts municipal group, as an affected party, on December 15.

"Paid defection"

The complaint that originated this judicial investigation underlines that, with the appointment as first deputy mayor, Serra began to receive a public salary that he did not have before, when he only collected attendance fees for the municipal plenary session. In fact, the complaint refers to jurisprudence on "paid defection" to enrich oneself or to try to retain power. According to the same complaint, the current salary as a member of the municipal government team is 22,000 euros per year.

Before the ARA, Serra assured that "there was no illicit pact nor any consideration" in exchange for his political action as a councilor, and that he maintains the same remuneration and dedication as when he was already a councilor in the coalition government. For his part, Molinera assures that ERC did not know the meaning of Serra's vote on the budgets, nor that of the rest of the Junts members who were part of the municipal government and voted against them. He insists that Serra maintains the same councilorships that ERC and Junts negotiated at the beginning of the term, and that when he appointed him deputy mayor, he was still a member of Junts.