The Almonte City Council has awarded the equestrian facilities of Environmental Training for Sustainable Development (Formades)an entity controlled at the time by the Junta de Andalucía and which was involved in the so-called training case for alleged abuse of public money.
The City Council stated this Friday that “with a private investment of one and a half million euros, this agreement represents a decisive step in the development of El Rocío. The commitment of the government team to this infrastructure that has fallen into disrepair now represents an exceptional opportunity for the future of the village”.
The municipal government team emphasizes in a statement that “the facilities, once a reference center in matters of environment and sustainable development, has suffered a steady deterioration in recent yearsaffected by vandalism, illegal occupation and lack of security. Transforming this precious heritage into a desolate space, generating economic losses of several millions of dollars.
The city council has reached an agreement with a private businessman, whose identity is not revealedwhich “will not only rehabilitate these facilities at no cost to the City Council, but will also give them a new life. With this project, the Formades equestrian facilities will once again be a nerve center for training and leisure around equestrian activity, consolidating El Rocío as the international horse village. A wide offer that will contribute to the economic and social development of the village of Almonteña”, he emphasizes.
Conviction
In June 2022, the Third Section of the Provincial Court of Seville sentenced Ana María Orihuela, former city councilor of Almonte and former general director of Formades, and three other people, including a son and a nephew, for the misappropriation of public funds from three grants. The trial took place in February and March of the same year.
Orihuela, also known as Queen Melchor since she dressed as the sorcerer king in the Almonte parade in 2009, was accused of charging all her expenses to the council’s course grants. His son and nephew accompanied him on the bench.both linked to the Formades consortium, and a veterinarian, who invoiced bills amounting to 408,232.18 euros between November 2007 and May 2012.
During the trial, it was recounted how the person responsible for the consortium He managed million-dollar games at will. and how a good part of the public budget ends up in the pockets of their families. In just over three years, his son billed a total of 452,895.82 euros for supposed maintenance work and as a stable boy, since in Formades there were horses for lessons.
Formades also made headlines during an Oldenburger mare that cost the regional funds 21,220 euros co-financed with European funds and bought by businessman Pedro Báñez García, cousin of the socialist councilor of Almonte and provincial deputy José Villa. Báñez took charge of the horse after the closure of Formades, which he had bought in 2010 at an auction in the German city of Vechta and transferred it to El Rocío thanks to a subsidy that this public body received for the unemployed.
