Miguel Zaragoza, the former mayor of Santa Pola, has exercised his right not to declare as the Court of Instruction number 2 in Elche has opened an investigation against both him and his sister Pilar, a provincial deputy of the Popular Party Miguel Zaragoza and the former councillor of Personal, Jorge Perelló.

Having testified at the Alicante Provincial Police Headquarters all have now been released with charges which, according to judicial sources, include embezzlement, bribery and fraud.

Zaragoza said that he has not been offered any information about the facts that form the accusation and as such he has decided to exercise his right not to declare, “as would any other person whose rights have been violated”.

To date little has been made public about the case other than the accusations revolve around the management of the Clinic of Gran Alacant, during the management of Zaragoza as mayor.

“Once I was made aware that a case against me had been opened, I requested information from the government team led by Mrs. Seva, in order to obtain details of the accusations against me,” Zaragoza said, ” but I was never given any explanation.”

“If the charges are secret, how can I possibly defend myself, how can I show that the management of the clinic was completely transparent at all times?”, he added.

Zaragoza said that when he has knowledge of the facts and the charges being prepared against him, he will hold a press conference, but in the meantime “I would like to insist on the transparency of my management at all times and confirm that there have been no irregularities in my performance “.