In a significant legal development, the Sixth Investigative Court of Seville has decided to proceed with a summary trial against Manuel Recio, a former Socialist employment counsellor for the Andalusian government.

This move comes amid allegations involving alleged fraudulent allocation of €20.2 million meant for training courses for former workers of automotive company Delphi.

Recio, along with two other individuals, now faces serious charges.

This judicial process is a separate piece within the broader case known as the "Training Courses Case," focused on the supposed illegitimacy in granting, paying, and justifying the multimillion-euro subsidy to the Foundation for the University of Cádiz (Fueca).

The magistrate, José Ignacio Vilaplana, has identified potential counts of administrative prevarication, embezzlement of public funds, and subsidy fraud.

Another notable figure, Diego Sales, former rector of the University of Cádiz, along with Sebastián S.G., legal representative of Fueca, are also under investigation in this matter.

Vilaplana’s recent ruling emphasized the lack of substantial evidence against other accused individuals, such as former employment counsellor Antonio Fernández and Juan Manuel Bouza, former employment delegate for Cádiz, leading to the dismissal of charges against them.

The crux of the case hinges on the allegedly simulated contracts given to ex-Delphi workers.

These contracts, purportedly set up to offer training, allegedly only created an ostensible appearance of an employment relationship necessary to register these workers with Social Security, despite the absence of real service provision at Fueca.

Vilaplana’s ruling throws light on the potential redirection of public funds through unauthorized subcontracts and other irregularities.

The trio under investigation is accused of orchestrating various strategies to artificially inflate costs tied to wages, contributions, and other expenses, all indirectly borne by the Andalusian government via Fueca’s financing.

This allegedly permitted the so-called employment of Delphi workers under the scheme without gaining any productive output.

Moreover, Recio is highlighted by the judge for issuing the subsidy without adequate prior studies or checks on the legality or the proper destination of past subsidies.

Vilaplana criticizes the haste and lack of transparency shown in the grant’s approval process, which reportedly occurred almost two months after the purported training commenced.

This case casts a shadow on the employment department's actions during Recio’s tenure.

Although these investigations are confined to a narrow aspect of the expansive Training Courses Case, they underline significant concerns over the governance and oversight of public funds designed for worker re-employment programs in Andalusia.

The legal proceedings continue to unfold, shedding light on governance challenges and the complexities of administering large-scale public funding initiatives.