The subsidised housing controversy at the Les Naus residential complex in Alicante has begun legal proceedings. The judge who is conducting an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the controversial allocation of the units has summoned fifteen individuals to testify as suspects. Political representatives, technicians, high-ranking local government officials, and a dozen households from the La Condomina development comprise this group.
Insider trading, abuse of power, prohibited negotiations by public officials, fraud against the administration, and fraud against the law are the offences for which this case was opened. This roster, similar to the list of defendants, may change as the investigation advances.
The summonses were issued by Judge Amparo Rubio, who is currently presiding over the case, at the request of anti-corruption prosecutors Fran Marco and Pablo Romero. The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party), Ciudadanos (Citizens), and the far-right union Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) have each lodged three private prosecutions in the case.
Relationships with the City Council
Numerous summonses pertain to individuals associated with the City Council. The former Urban Planning Councillor Rocío Gómez resigned after the scandal broke, when it was revealed that she had been one of the recipients of a first-floor apartment in the residential complex. She exchanged the apartment for a fifth-floor apartment belonging to her father-in-law, whom the judge has also summoned as a defendant.
María Pérez-Hickman, the director general of Contracting for the Alicante City Council, was also included in the initial group of defendants. Following the publication of this information, she resigned from her position after it was discovered that her two daughters and a nephew own properties in Les Naus. In addition, Francisco Nieto, the municipal architect, was involved in the case and was also the beneficiary of one of the apartments.
The superintendent and “the individual who issues visas”
The judge has also summoned Francisco Ordiñana, the manager of Fraorgi, the company that manages the cooperative, and Roberto Palencia, the architect from the Regional Ministry of Housing, who approved the permits for the 140 homes, including that of his wife, an architect and civil servant with the Alicante City Council. The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested his summons as a suspect, despite the fact that the Ciudadanos party had requested his testimony as a witness. Legal counsel must accompany each of the five individuals to court on May 20th.
The second indicator
A second round of depositions has been scheduled for June 5th, during which ten additional individuals are being investigated. All of these individuals are recipients of the subsidised housing units. The former councilwoman’s father-in-law, Sira Pérez, the treasurer of the Sant Joan City Council, and the wife of the Generalitat official under investigation are among these proprietors.
The ten are identified in the report that the Housing Ministry has submitted to the court as proprietors who, for some unknown reason, failed to satisfy the eligibility criteria for accessing the apartments.
Income that is not contributed
The department headed by Susana Camarero conducted an inspection of Rocío Gómez’s father-in-law, who is also a resident of the complex. The inspection determined that “the cohabitation unit has full ownership of another dwelling,” and that the former councilwoman’s mother-in-law was not provided with documentation substantiating her income.
Another of the beneficiaries will also be brought before the magistrate due to the absence of documentation that verifies the family’s income during 2023. The woman submitted a certificate indicating that she received €57,037 gross in Germany, despite not providing any information about her companion, following a second request. She was tax resident in Germany.
Treasurer of Sant Joan
Sira Pérez, the current administrator of the Sant Joan City Council and a former auditor of the Generalitat, has not included the income or property of her spouse in the file for her allocation. The Housing official, who, according to statements from his own colleagues, admitted that he had “messed up” after being discovered, validated her visa, as did the other 139 residents of Les Naus. The wife of this public employee is another of the ten owners summoned to testify as a suspect for explicitly failing to provide “documentation proving her spouse’s income or property.”
Individuals who possess additional properties
In the cases of four other beneficiaries who have been formally charged, one member of the family unit possesses 100% of another property, a requirement that disqualifies them from receiving public housing. Additionally, in one instance, the property is classified as public housing, while in another, the petitioners’ income exceeds the legal threshold in addition to their ownership. The members of a couple who own a property in the residential complex have also been summoned to testify as suspects due to the same reason—exceeding the income limit.
Eyewitnesses
The officials from the Housing Department who prepared the report on the alleged irregularities will make another appearance prior to these statements. After three public employees from the department’s territorial agency in Alicante appeared as witnesses last Friday, they have been summoned as witnesses for May 8. These employees reported that the colleague who was suspended from his position as a result of these events and has since returned to his position has offered to process the visas for Les Naus.
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