The case centres on municipal contracts linked to the Fundación para la Inclusión Laboral (FIL), where Eduard Rivas served as a trustee alongside four other mayors from the Baix Llobregat area. Based in Esparreguera, FIL supports employment for people with intellectual disabilities and others at risk of social exclusion. Rivas resigned as chief of staff to Catalan president Salvador Illa on 2 November 2026, after learning that the secrecy order in the judicial inquiry had been lifted.
Sources cited by RTVE said Rivas received confirmation of the decision and submitted his resignation the next day. The investigation concerns alleged irregularities during his time as mayor of Esparreguera, a post he held from 2015 to 2024. Investigative Court No. 7 of Martorell is examining municipal contracts awarded to FIL in 2022, 2023 and 2024 for street cleaning and public-space maintenance.
RTVE reported that the court was examining contracts connected to the foundation. The Catalan High Court of Justice has confirmed that a case is open over suspected misappropriation of public funds at Esparreguera City Council. Investigators are examining whether money paid under the contracts was diverted to private expenses of people associated with FIL. In January 2026, Mossos d’Esquadra seized Rivas’s mobile phone under a judge’s order and took documents from the town council on 15 January. The allegations remain under investigation and have not been established as criminal findings; as discussed in RUSSPAIN’s analysis of political resignations, leaving office and establishing criminal liability are separate matters.
The controversy became public by April 2026, when reports emerged that Rivas was under investigation over alleged irregularities linked to FIL. Illa then expressed confidence in his chief of staff. The Generalitat said Rivas had resigned by his own decision, not been dismissed. Illa thanked him for his commitment and services. Xavier Amor, then secretary for Local Governments and Relations with Aran, was appointed to replace him as chief of staff. Rivas continued to maintain his innocence and, according to RTVE, intended to remain in the PSC. The judicial investigation continued after his resignation.
