Spanish prosecutor seeks 8-year prison term for ex-PSOE deputy Tito Berni in Canary Islands corruption case
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment on 24 June requesting prison sentences for 16 defendants in a bribery scheme that operated in the Canary Islands, with the former Socialist deputy facing eight years.
Indictment filed
On 24 June 2026, Spain's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office submitted its indictment in the Mediador case to the Court of Instruction Number 4 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, requesting the opening of an oral trial. The case targets a network that allegedly traded political favours for bribes in the Canary Islands between late 2020 and mid-2021.
The corruption scheme
According to the indictment, the three main defendants "devised a criminal plan" to approach businessmen, mainly from the agricultural, livestock and renewable energy sectors. In exchange for "gifts, bribes and commissions", they promised private-sector deals, public contracts, subsidies and other illicit benefits. The former Socialist deputy Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo, known as Tito Berni, used his position to host businessmen at the Congress of Deputies, lending the scheme an appearance of seriousness.
Guided by the desire to obtain an illicit economic benefit, they devised a criminal plan under which, after prior agreement and with a clearly defined distribution of roles, they proposed to businessmen, fundamentally from the agricultural, livestock and renewable energy sectors, both nationally and regionally, in exchange for the payment of gifts, bribes and commissions, important business in the private sector as well as the awarding of contracts, receipt of subsidies and other illicit benefits in the public sphere, all geographically located in the Canary Islands archipelago.
Sentences requested
The prosecutor is seeking eight years in prison for Tito Berni (six for continuous bribery and two for membership of a criminal group). The alleged mediator, Marco Antonio Navarro Tacoronte, faces the heaviest request: 13 years for bribery, criminal organisation, fraud, document falsification and influence peddling. Taishet Fuentes Gutiérrez, the former director general of livestock and nephew of Tito Berni, faces 11 years, though one outlet initially reported 8. A retired Civil Guard general, Francisco Espinosa Navas, is accused of bribery and influence peddling and could receive two years. Several businessmen also face sentences ranging from 10 months to four and a half years, depending on their level of cooperation.
- Tito Berni
- 8 years
- Navarro Tacoronte
- 13 years
- Taishet Fuentes
- 11 years
- Espinosa Navas
- 2 years
- Robayna García
- 0.83 years
- Businessman A.M.G.
- 4.5 years
A cooperating businessman
One businessman, Miguel Ángel Robayna García, received a significantly reduced request of 10 months after voluntarily providing "relevant and effective" information to investigators. The prosecutor noted that his cooperation helped clarify the facts, though it did not reveal previously unknown crimes. This contrasts with the Koldo case, where the prosecutor general blocked a similar reduction for the cooperating businessman Aldama.
The defendant collaborated with the investigation by providing data and information that contributed to clarifying the facts, being relevant and effective for the investigation, information that was also verified as truthful and was provided voluntarily.
Political context
Tito Berni resigned from his seat in Congress after the scandal broke. The case has drawn attention to the use of public office for private gain and the role of intermediaries in channelling bribes. The indictment now moves to the trial phase, where the court will decide on the final sentences.
