Peña Armas summoned to testify as a suspect in Operation ODIN

The Anti‑Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has focused its investigation on the leader of Fuerteventura Avanza and councilor of Puerto del Rosario, Peña Armas, the municipal architect José Luis Espinel, and businessman Cipriano Armas. According to Radio Insular, they have been summoned to testify as investigated persons in Operation ODIN.

The public prosecutor’s report details 29 contract awards amounting to €956,653 granted to Peña Armas’s family circle between April 2020 and February 2023. More than €730,000 of that sum is alleged to have gone directly to Cipriano Armas and his partner.

“We are not dealing with mere conjecture, but with an evidentiary picture that suggests a continued criminal participation,” the prosecutor asserts.

Repeated Reports and Ignored Objections

• The municipal architect José Luis Espinel allegedly signed technical reports that were merely copies of previous documents, thereby legitimising contracts awarded without competition, even after the auditor warned of possible irregularities.
• The conduct could constitute administrative perjury, influence peddling, embezzlement of public funds, and fraud against the administration, among other offenses.
• The investigation also reaches companies linked to Peña Armas’s network, such as Tuercón Canarias S.L., Codeplag Canarias S.L., and Montaña del Silvo S.L., which have corporate ties to Cipriano Armas.
• Several contracts were awarded to firms lacking proven experience or engaged in activities unrelated to the contracts, such as cleaning services or civil works.

Irregular Financing of Fuerteventura Avanza

• Authorities have identified cash withdrawals exceeding €67,000 from public revenues. Investigators are probing whether this money was funneled into the party’s electoral campaign.
• A separate line of inquiry concerns the purchase of a property by Peña Armas in June 2022. The UDEF is examining “irregularities in the payment method” and whether the funds originated from the suspect contracts.

On 17 July, the UDEF detained Peña Armas, Espinel, and Cipriano Armas to prevent interference with simultaneous raids. All three were released after providing statements and now await formal designation as investigated persons, with the hearing scheduled for 24 September.