- The Spanish State Court of Auditors has opened the procedure for the sports association Bilbao Basket to reimburse the Provincial Council of Bizkaia for the aid of 5.3 million euros received in 2013, according to eldiario.es. That money saved the club from disappearing.
Of these 5.3 million, Bilbao Basket directly received 1.9 million; the other 3.4 million came from debt forgiveness with the Provincial Treasury. The Provincial Council justified this subsidy on the pretext of advertising to Bizkaia. In fact, the team’s T-shirts feature the oak leaf of the Diputación’s logo since 2009.
At the time the aid was approved, José Luis Bilbao was the Deputy General of Bizkaia. Interestingly, he is now the head of the Court of Public Accounts of the Basque Country. It must be borne in mind that the Spanish Court of Auditors initiated the opening of the procedure for unjustified subsidies on the grounds of the Court’s impulse. However, the starting point for the case was the audit carried out in 2015 by the Court of Public Accounts of the Basque Country, before the arrival of José Luis Bilbao.
According to Eldiario.es, the purpose of this type of procedure is for policy makers responsible for improper spending to return from their pockets the public money improperly spent.
Professional sport and public support
Along with data on other clubs, this month’s journalist Jon Torner, from LARRUN LUZ, talked about the relationship that Bilbao Basket has maintained in recent years with the Basque administrations.
To read in full: Professional sport and public support; Basque organizations, more than companions.