Spain: Politician defending Sahrawi independence cause caught in a web of corruption

The Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has requested prison sentences of up to five years for most of the seven defendants in a case related to alleged irregularities in the contracting of services for the Gran Canaria Landscape Days in Las Palmas, held between 2016 and 2019.

Among those targeted are Inés Miranda Navarro, former head of Territorial Policy and Landscape at the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, the island's governing body, and former administrative officials, as well as businesspeople linked to the companies that participated in organizing the events.

According to information published by Spanish and French media, the prosecution alleges that the contracts were structured in a way that circumvented public procurement procedures, through the division of expenses and the use of companies that would formally appear as the contractors for the services.

Responsibilities of the seven defendants

The investigation involves seven people, including political and administrative officials and representatives of private companies. The most notable is Inés Miranda Navarro, a lawyer and member of the Las Palmas Bar Association and a long-time advocate for the cause of self-determination in the Sahara.

Inés Miranda Navarro is accused of authorizing awards and expenses related to the conferences. The prosecution alleges that contracts for some editions were formalized after the events had already taken place.

Rafael Pedrero Manchado, former Director-General of Territorial Policy, and Víctor Quevedo Domínguez, former head of strategic development for the island plan, are also being targeted for alleged involvement in administrative and financial procedures related to the events.

María Ángeles Horna Andrade, administrator of Imaco 89, is identified by the prosecution as one of the central figures in the alleged scheme for hiring and transferring funds.

Michel Jorge Millares, linked to the Instituto Canario de Telecomunicaciones, and Mónica del Pino Torres Rodríguez, associated with Yedra Comunicación, are accused of having participated, through their respective companies, in the bidding procedures and financial flows under investigation.

In turn, Juan José Sánchez Arencibia, then responsible for the financial oversight of the Cabildo and husband of Horna Andrade, is accused of not having refrained from procedures in which there was a potential conflict of interest, as well as of having interfered in the oversight and processing of expenses related to the conferences.

The charges include, according to the responsibility attributed to each defendant, suspicions of administrative misconduct, embezzlement of public funds, and fraud against the administration. In the case of the former head of financial oversight, possible irregularities related to the involvement of public officials in business dealings with private interests are also alleged.

The Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting prison sentences of up to five years for several of those involved, in addition to varying periods of disqualification from holding public office or contracting with public entities, as appropriate.

The role of Inés Miranda Navarro

A five-year prison sentence and a ten-year ban from holding public office is the penalty requested by the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor's office against Inés Miranda Navarro, a councilor of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria. Inés Miranda Navarro is not presented in the case as a mere peripheral figure. She acted at the highest level of the relevant administrative chain. As Territorial Policy Advisor to the Cabildo, she allegedly signed or authorized several decisions related to contracts, expenses, and the organization of the Landscape Days.

Inés Miranda Navarro's international career constitutes the second important element of her public profile. In 2005, a letter preserved in the official UN archives presents her as the coordinator of the observation mission to Western Sahara for the Spanish Bar Association. She requested permission to speak before the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly, which deals, in particular, with decolonization issues.

Later, she held positions in the International Association of Jurists for Western Sahara. The Spanish Bar Association presented her as a member of an observation mission expelled from El Aaiún in 2023 by Moroccan authorities. In June of the same year, the Spanish professional organization presented her as president of the association at a conference dedicated to the natural resources of Western Sahara and the proceedings brought before European courts.

In October 2022, she participated in a reception in New York at the Permanent Mission of Algeria to the United Nations. The Canary Islands delegation's report indicates that Sidi Omar, presented as the representative of the Polisario Front to the UN, welcomed the participants. Inés Miranda Navarro also participated in a meeting at the Ecuadorian mission and in discussions on the self-determination of Western Sahara.

These facts demonstrate a long-standing political and legal commitment to the Sahrawi cause, as well as direct contacts with representatives of Algeria and the Polisario Front. While they shed light on the international network in which it operates, these facts, by themselves, do not constitute proof of clandestine financing.

The criminal proceedings relating to the Landscape Days and her Sahrawi activities should be considered together as two dimensions of Inés Miranda Navarro's public career – who enjoys the presumption of innocence until a final decision is reached. However, the available information on the public procurement process does not allow for establishing a causal link between these political positions and the suspected financial irregularities under investigation.