Sevilla President Jose Maria del Nido has lost his appeal against prosecution on charges of fraud and has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Del Nido was originally sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in December 2011, having been accused of sending fake bills for legal services totalling €6.73m to Marbella city hall between 1999 and 2003.
Whilst his appeal to the Supreme Court in Spain saw a final ruling on that sentence delayed from September, today they have determined that seven years of the original sentence remains, rejecting only the charge of fraud and not those of corruption and embezzlement.
The Court has also ruled against extending the sentence by two years, as per the prosecutor’s request, for the falsification of commercial documents.
As it is for a period of more than two years, Del Nido is unlikely to be handed a suspended sentence, meaning time in prison for the Sevilla President, who will also have to relinquish his position at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
It is expected that Los Nervionenses will have power shifted over to a ‘crisis cabinet’ consisting of five board members, including Del Nido’s son, Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco.
