Civil Guard investigators have detected a communication of 'special institutional relevance' between José Manuel Setién, former Urban Planning coordinator for the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council who is already retired, and the first vice-president of the Island Council, Augusto Hidalgo (PSOE). The officers found this interaction while analyzing devices seized from Setién, who allegedly accessed the City Council's VPN after his retirement in March 2023.
According to the report, on December 29, 2023, Setién initiated a VPN connection to the City Council. The Civil Guard suspects this access allowed him to extract or validate information that he subsequently sent via email to the island's vice-president.
“"I have just read the email you sent me regarding the Infecar matter. Once again, I really appreciate your help, Jose. It will be of great help to me. If you don't mind, and if you don't tell me otherwise, I am going to forward your arguments to Antonio Modesto (the director of the Housing Consortium), so that he can incorporate them as argumentation in the report I have commissioned from him on this matter. Thank you again. And happy new year!!!"
Hidalgo's message to Setién confirms receipt of an email concerning Infecar (Canary Islands Trade Fair Institution) and thanks him for his help, stating he will forward it to the director of the Housing Consortium for inclusion in a report. The Civil Guard interprets this gratitude as 'active and continuous technical collaboration'.
Setién's response was a brief 'Feel free to pass it on'. Investigators point out that the incorporation of arguments from a retired civil servant, who obtains data through unauthorized VPN access, into official reports by a public consortium director constitutes a 'breach of the principles of administrative objectivity and impartiality'.
The Civil Guard has located similar messages from Setién with nearly a dozen other individuals, all related to urban planning issues, during the period after his retirement and without any employment ties to the City Council, which would preclude him from accessing public files.
Both Setién and the former head of Parks and Gardens, Miguel Ángel Padrón, exercised their right to remain silent before magistrate Rafael Passaro in October 2024, as investigated parties. Also implicated in the proceedings are Marina Mas, Carlos Cabrera (head of the technical office for Mobility and Works at Geursa), Luis Pérez (head of the legal department at Geursa), and the entity Geursa itself.
