The procedure against David Sánchez has opened a new front before the Court of Accounts this Thursday. Iustitia Europa, one of the popular accusations in the criminal process, has requested an investigation into the salaries paid by the Provincial Council of Badajoz to the brother of the President of the Government and to Luis María Carrero, also convicted in the same case.
The organization estimates its initial claim at 427,561 euros. Of that amount, 340,572 would correspond to the remunerations received by David Sánchez between July 2017 and May 2025, while the other 86,988 euros would come from the salary collected by Carrero since the beginning of 2024.
The document requests that the auditing body collect payrolls, contracts, personnel files, contributions, and payment orders. It also demands that it determine what work was actually carried out and if any part of that public money lacked sufficient consideration.
The Audiencia did not order the return of salaries
The initiative comes after the Provincial Court of Badajoz sentenced David Sánchez on July 14 to nine years of disqualification from public employment or office as a necessary cooperator in a crime of administrative prevarication.
The ruling considered arbitrary the transformation of his position in the Provincial Council to convert it into the Head of the Performing Arts Office. In the opinion of the magistrates, the change provided formal coverage for different functions and adapted the position to the professional interests of the musician without respecting the required administrative procedures.
The sentence, however, acquitted David Sánchez of the crime of influence peddling. The court recognized that the existence of pressure to favor him could be suspected, but concluded that during the trial it was not proven who would have exerted it or through what specific actions.
The Audiencia also did not order the return of salaries. The popular accusations lacked legitimacy to claim this civil liability within the criminal process, while the Provincial Council of Badajoz and the Prosecutor's Office, the parties that could raise it, did not do so.
The magistrates left open the possibility that an eventual patrimonial responsibility could be examined in the accounting jurisdiction. Iustitia Europa has now resorted to this route and has asked the Court of Accounts to follow the trail of the payments.
The return will not be automatic
The submission of the document does not in itself oblige David Sánchez to reimburse any amount. The Court of Accounts must first verify if there is sufficient evidence to open proceedings and if the facts may have caused a real, quantifiable, and directly related detriment to the handling of public funds.
It will also have to distinguish between the administrative irregularity declared in the sentence and the existence of accounting damage. Even a position created or modified arbitrarily may have given rise to effective services, a matter that must be analyzed before deciding what amounts could be claimed.
The action argues that social security contributions, per diems, travel expenses, and other costs assumed by the Provincial Council must be added to the initial calculation. The final result, if the procedure prospers, could vary after reviewing all the documentation.
The PP has filed another complaint in which it raises the possible cost attributable to David Sánchez to 416,798 euros by incorporating the social security contributions linked to his position. The far-right Vox has also gone to the Court of Accounts to request information on the remuneration and functions of Luis María Carrero.
The different figures respond to different calculations and concepts and have not yet been verified by the auditing body. It will be up to the Court to delimit the period examined, discount leaves of absence or suspensions, and establish whether there is any direct or subsidiary responsibility.
The sentence remains pending appeal
The new accounting offensive unfolds while the criminal conviction still lacks finality. David Sánchez's defense has described the ruling as "absolutely unfair" and has announced that it will appeal it before the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Extremadura.
That appeal can review both the assessment of the evidence and the legal interpretation that has led to his conviction for cooperating in the modification of his position. Until the higher instances resolve, the nine-year disqualification penalty will not be final.
The Court of Accounts may initiate its own examination without replacing the pending review of the criminal sentence. Its action will be limited to determining whether there was economic damage to the provincial coffers, who could have caused it, and what amount should be reimbursed.
The month of August is non-working for the accounting jurisdiction, so the first steps of the procedure could be left for September. The Court must then decide whether to file the briefs or open the requested preliminary proceedings to request all documentation from the Provincial Council of Badajoz.
