Supreme Court Acquits Former Lanzarote President of False Complaint and Perjury

The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court has acquitted the Coalición Canaria senator and former president of the Lanzarote Island Council, Pedro San Ginés, of the crimes of false accusation and perjury. The case stemmed from a complaint he filed in 2009, shortly after taking office as island president.

The alleged irregularities in the procurement processes of the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism (CACT) that he himself reported remained under investigation until the file was closed in 2019.

Now, the Supreme Court’s ruling clears Pedro Manuel San Ginés Gutiérrez of the charges of false accusation and perjury brought by the now‑deceased businessman who had been implicated in those alleged irregularities.

On 12 March, the high court determined that the proven facts do not constitute the offenses for which the senator was charged. The court concluded that there was no evidence he acted with malice—i.e., “with knowledge of the falsity or with a manifest disregard for the truth.”

Origin of the Case: Alleged Irregularities in the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism (CACT)

The controversy dates back to November 2009, weeks after San Ginés assumed the presidency of the Lanzarote Island Council and, consequently, of the Local Public Business Entity for the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism (EPEL‑CACT). He filed a complaint alleging possible irregular contracts within the entity, initially naming its chief executive officer and later a private businessman as responsible.

Six months later, the public CACT entity of Lanzarote became the plaintiff, echoing the same allegations. Proceedings opened in a court in Arrecife continued until November 2019, when they were finally archived.

The judgment notes that both the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the private accusation—representing the family of the now‑deceased businessman—argued that the complaint was unfounded and driven by political persecution. In response, the senator’s defense argued that, having become aware of possible procurement irregularities, he was obliged to inform the Civil Guard and the court.

The Supreme Court holds that San Ginés merely transmitted to the authorities information that had been communicated to him and that could constitute a crime. It also adds that the public entity itself filed the corresponding criminal complaint in 2010, with no evidence that the accused participated in it or in any subsequent amendment.

The ruling further states that, since no false‑accusation crime was identified, the charge of perjury also collapses. The court acknowledges the “understandable distress and discouragement” suffered by the investigated businessman during a ten‑year‑long case, describing the episode as an “example of what the proper functioning of the courts should not be.”