The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has opened an investigation into the contracts for the 2024 Exaltation of Valencia's Falleras Mayores, after a complaint filed by Compromís against the management of the municipal government led by María José Catalá. The suspicions focus on decisions made by the Fallas councillor and president of the Junta Central Fallera (JCF), Santiago Ballester, in the hours before the exaltation ceremonies.

The complaint covers two areas. The first concerns the technical services — sound, lighting and recording. According to Compromís, at the 2019 Exaltation, held at the Palau de la Música, sound and lighting were tendered together through an open procedure, whereas in 2024 Ballester allegedly split them into several smaller contracts, each just below the threshold that would require a public tender. The party adds that invited companies had fewer than 48 hours to submit bids, when municipal rules require a minimum of seven days, and that some companies dated their quotes two days before the JCF even asked for them. "Either they are fortune-tellers, or someone already knew who had to win," joked Compromís councillor Pere Fuset.

The second area covers the artistic contracts, especially the musical 'Cineman Sinfónico', allegedly awarded as a private contract on artistic grounds, with no competition, hours before the event and at a cost more than six times that of the previous year's show. Fuset recalled that the municipal government "relied that year on a big band from Madrid" accompanying singer Daniel Diges. The complaint also points to a possible technical coordination of the event with no known contract: the JCF allegedly told Compromís in writing that no coordination contract existed, yet footage of the rehearsals shows professionals from an outside company directing the ceremony from the stage.

Compromís notes that the city council is legally obliged to cooperate with the Anti-Fraud Agency and to provide all requested documentation. "The PP cannot turn the Junta Central Fallera into a black hole for public money," Fuset stressed, calling for explanations from Ballester and Catalá. The party says it is still gathering information on other alleged irregularities, including the selection of the Falleras Mayores candidates for 2027, which it puts at more than €418,000. So far, no official response from the municipal government on the substance of the accusations has been made public; the opening of an investigation does not mean the irregularities have been proven.

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