The resolution is still not final and there is a possibility of an appeal before the Provincial Court of Las Palmas. The trajectory of José Manuel Arnaiz Bra, who was one of the strongmen of the Popular Party in the port and autonomous management of the Canary Islands, has suffered a definitive judicial setback in the commercial sphere. According to Atlántico Hoy, the Commercial Court No. 3 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has ruled the bankruptcy of Tacsames SL as culpable, the company with which the former president of the Port Authority managed the El Valle elderly center in Las Palmas.
Suspicious Accounts and the Mystery of the Stolen Computers
The ruling from Judge Guillermo Fernández García outlines a narrative of accounting irregularities and lack of institutional cooperation. According to the judgment, Arnaiz’s management did not meet the minimum legal standards, with serious discrepancies identified between what was declared in the Corporate Tax and the internal accounting for the years 2019 and 2020. Among the darkest points highlighted in the resolution are unjustified losses that were recorded as 250,000 euros in uncollectible credits without providing a single document to substantiate the reality of that debt.
A Theft?
The theft excuse: Arnaiz tried to justify the lack of information (such as the inventory of assets or the list of creditors) by claiming the theft of computers and an eviction. The judge, however, finds that there was an ‘omissive behavior’ to obstruct the work of justice. The total deficit of the bankruptcy amounts to 546,367.11 euros. Despite the seriousness of the facts and the negligent behavior perceived by the bankruptcy administrator in continuing to operate with high debts, Arnaiz has managed to avoid being ordered to cover this deficit with his personal assets.
The engineer’s financial salvation has been a legal technicality: the bankruptcy administrator failed to legally prove that the irregularities were the direct cause of the increase in debt, an essential requirement for demanding economic liability under the Bankruptcy Law. Although his personal portfolio remains protected, his career as an administrator has hit rock bottom. The sentence imposes a two-year disqualification on him to manage third-party property or represent others, in addition to the loss of any rights to collection he had pending with the company. Arnaiz, who in recent times maintained a low public profile and advised engineering projects for the expansion of the Sports Dock — a project that was rejected — now faces a period of legal ostracism.
