Francis Puig and Partner Face Trial for Alleged Irregularities in Valencian Subsidies

The head of the Valencia Court of Instruction No. 4 has ordered the commencement of oral proceedings against Francis Puig, brother of former Generalitat President Ximo Puig, and Juan Enrique Adell Bover for alleged irregularities in receiving subsidies from the Generalitat Valenciana and the Generalitat de Cataluña for promoting the Valencian language in media between 2015 and 2018.

The magistrate believes that both may have committed a continuous crime of falsification in commercial documents in conjunction with an aggravated fraud crime, as reported by the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV).

In an order notified to the parties this Tuesday, the judge sets bonds for the two accused, Francis Puig and Juan Enrique Adell Bover, at €147,589.29 and €99,614.33, respectively. According to the resolution, the companies Comunicaciones dels Ports SA and Canal Maestrat SL would be subsidiarily liable for these amounts.

The judge explicitly excludes subsidy fraud from the crimes for which the oral trial is to be held, applying the legislation in force at the time of the events, prior to the reform by Organic Law 1/2019, as a more favorable rule for the defendants, establishing that the defrauding of subsidies had to exceed €120,000.

Furthermore, the Provincial Court of Valencia is designated as the competent body to conduct the trial and issue the corresponding verdict.

The order to open oral proceedings cannot be appealed, except regarding the personal situation of the accused, unlike the previous order initiating the abbreviated procedure, for which appeals are pending resolution.