The Justice confirms the sentence to Toño Sanchís for misappropriation against Belén Esteban

The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has confirmed the sentence imposed on Toño Sanchís for a continued crime of misappropriation to the detriment of Belén Esteban and her company, BEM Imaging, S.L. The Civil and Criminal Chamber has dismissed both the appeal filed by the former representative's defense and that of the private prosecution, making final the sentence issued by the Provincial Court of Madrid.

The ruling upholds the sentence of two years in prison, in addition to seven months of fine with a daily quota of 10 euros, as well as the obligation to compensate the collaborator with the definitive amount to be determined during the execution of the sentence. The judges consider it proven that Sanchís appropriated significant amounts of money while managing the professional career of Belén Esteban.

According to the proven facts, the professional relationship between the two began in 2009, when the presenter signed an exclusive representation contract with the Agencia de Servicios Lorant, de facto managed by Toño Sanchís. The agreement established that the agency would receive a commission of 20% of the income obtained from the exploitation of the collaborator's image, while the remaining 80% was to be transferred to Esteban's company.

However, the Justice considers it proven that between 2009 and 2015 the convicted applied percentages higher than those agreed and reported amounts lower than those that actually corresponded to the collaborator's company. In this way, he appropriated 362,248.14 euros, coming from contracts with different companies and production companies, among them La Fábrica de la Tele, where the greatest economic damage occurred with 164,748.21 euros. To this were added other amounts withheld from invoices that were never collected.

The recognized economic damage finally exceeds 475,571 euros, a figure that also includes 86,703.48 euros subsequently detected during the accounting procedure. After the professional breakup in 2015, Belén Esteban went to court to claim the allegedly diverted amounts. Although in the civil proceedings she obtained a favorable sentence, she only managed to recover 49,318.33 euros in cash and a property whose definitive valuation must be specified during the criminal execution, since Sanchís's company ended up entering bankruptcy proceedings and was dissolved.

In its resolution, the TSJM rejects all the arguments put forward by the defense and concludes that the initial sentence is sufficiently motivated and supported by abundant documentary, expert, and testimonial evidence. For the court, it was proven that Toño Sanchís acted as de facto administrator of the company, decided the destination of the withheld money, and benefited economically from amounts that should never have left the assets of the television collaborator.