PP politician resigns after indictment, suffers stroke

Jorge Bellver, the former director general of Transparency for the Valencian government, is in intensive care after suffering a stroke, just as he submitted his resignation and requested a temporary suspension of his membership in the People's Party (PP).

The 50-year-old PP politician resigned Wednesday, preempting his departure from the Generalitat after his indictment in the Azud case was confirmed by the Provincial Court of Valencia. Bellver is accused of corruption during his tenure as an urban planning councilor in the Valencia City Council under former mayor Rita Barberá. The case investigates alleged kickbacks in exchange for public works contracts awarded between 2009 and 2013.

Valencian President Juanfran Pérez Llorca acknowledged Bellver's service and upheld his presumption of innocence in a letter from the former director. The regional government is expected to formalize Bellver's dismissal on Friday. Bellver also wrote to the regional PP leadership, asking to be suspended as a party member until the facts are clarified. The PP's Committee on Rights and Guarantees had already opened an informational file on him.

Bellver had previously been notified in 2022 that he could join the case after his name appeared on a list of gifts allegedly given by the corruption network. At the time, he did not see a reason to participate. In 2025, after he was no longer a deputy and thus not a protected official, the judge summoned him to testify as an investigated person. Bellver appealed this, and the Provincial Court has now ratified his status as an investigated party.

“

His Majesty is well, but must continue to take things calmly, just as when she was discharged on May 19.