Internal reports commissioned by the Consell de Mallorca found that Pedro Bestard had used three official vehicles exclusively without express authorisation or records showing that the cars had been assigned to him for exclusive use. The reports described the arrangement as inappropriate but did not establish categorically that the vehicles had been used improperly. On 1 November 2026, the Fiscalía de Baleares agreed to file a criminal complaint against Bestard, the council’s second vice-president and councillor for Sports, Environment and Rural Affairs, over the alleged use of official cars.
The decision followed a complaint lodged by the Grupo Socialista at the Consell on 2 July 2026, after the case became public in May. Última Hora and Diario de Mallorca reported the development, which sources involved in the proceedings confirmed to Europa Press. The Socialists allege continuing misappropriation of public funds, prevarication and document falsification. Prosecutors considered that the allegations warranted judicial investigation and sought to assign the case to an examining court in Palma.
The PSIB alleges that Bestard repeatedly used vehicles assigned to his department for private journeys, sometimes exclusively, while incurring fuel and other running costs without permission. A technical report recorded at least 20 journeys outside the institutional agenda and fuel expenditure on days when Bestard had no scheduled official activity. The reports also noted that at least one vehicle lacked the Consell’s institutional markings or had had them removed. The material indicated that Bestard could separately access an official vehicle for institutional travel, also to the three cars allegedly held for his exclusive use.
The PSIB asked prosecutors to hear the technical secretary for the Environment department, which Bestard heads, and officials from the Presidency department, including the secretary-general and the comptroller. It also requested vehicle-use files and records covering journeys, fuel consumption, maintenance, geolocation and related documentation. ARA Balears reported that 19 vehicles in the department were immobilised while the three cars were allegedly reserved for Bestard’s use; the department’s ageing fleet was described as needing urgent renewal.
The allegations concern the management of an official fleet, distinct from road incidents such as the A-5 vehicle pursuit involving a stolen car and Guardia Civil vehicles.
The internal reports, ordered by Consell president Llorenç Galmés, called the exclusive use without authorisation inappropriate but said they could not determine categorically that it was improper. After receiving the findings, the council took no disciplinary or political action against Bestard and closed its administrative review by approving an internal instruction to regulate official-vehicle use. Following the Fiscalía’s decision, Catalina Cladera, spokesperson for the Socialist group at the Consell, demanded Bestard’s immediate dismissal. The complaint seeks judicial scrutiny; it is an allegation, not a court ruling on criminal liability.
