Conviction of Miguel Francés, President of the Royal Spanish Shooting Federation, for embezzlement
Juan José Saldaña
November 8, 2024

The Second Section of the Provincial Court of Oviedo has sentenced Miguel Francés, president of the Royal Spanish Shooting Federation, to two years in prison for a continued crime of embezzlement. Additionally, he has been banned from holding positions in sports federations during the duration of the sentence. The ruling is not final, as an appeal can be filed with the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Asturias.

During the trial held in October, Francés was accused of embezzling funds from the Federation of Olympic Shooting of the Principality of Asturias (FETPA) in 2017 and 2018 while he was in charge of the entity. The president defended that the money was used to cover debts of the national federation, which was “on the verge of bankruptcy.” Francés denied embezzling any funds and defended his “honorability,” justifying the payments as necessary to settle urgent debts, such as overdue salaries for the staff of the High Performance Center in Granada and the rent for an apartment in Madrid.

Witnesses, including former employees of both federations, confirmed that these payments were intended to settle a debt accumulated since 2016 between FETPA and the Royal Spanish Shooting Federation for the payment of licenses, a debt that was cleared in 2018. However, the court did not accept these explanations and issued the conviction for embezzlement.

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