The magistrate Amparo Rubio, head of Investigating Court Number 5 of Alicante, ordered the National Police on Friday, 29th May, to go to Alicante City Council. The objective is to demand, in person and urgently, various documents regarding the controversial Les Naus housing development.
The assigned unit of the National Police Corps has the mission of identifying the person responsible for the municipal legal services to pass on a clear message from the judge. According to the court order, the local authority has an unextendable period of five calendar days to deliver the paperwork. The police had not yet received the order when it was made public by the TSJCV, as confirmed to this publication.
Should this new deadline not be met, the magistrate warned that the person responsible could face charges for a crime of disobedience under the Criminal Code. This drastic measure comes after the City Council ignored two previous requests made on 12th and 21st May.
The investigation is not only tightening the circle around the local administration. The judge has also demanded technical documentation of the project and data on the employees of commercial companies linked to the construction from the manager of the Fraorgi cooperative.
In the opposition, the PSOE spokesperson Ana Barceló criticised that what has occurred dismantles the narrative that the mayor has maintained for months. She questioned why the judge has to send the police to the city council to demand the documentation if all of it was already available to the justice system, as Mayor Luis Barcala had claimed.
The Compromís spokesperson, Rafa Mas, used the order from Judge Rubio to recall that they have been denouncing this for more than four months. He added in a statement that some have even received threats of lawsuits for making it public, describing the situation as unacceptable in a democratic government.
Within the framework of the same case, the court requested the CGT union to pay a bond of 3,000 euro. This is the necessary requirement for them to appear as a popular prosecution, joining the PSPV-PSOE and Ciudadanos.
On the other hand, a new round of witness statements has been scheduled for 17th June. On that day, representatives of six construction companies will appear at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The head and the deputy secretary of the Territorial Housing Service of Alicante will also testify again.
The case is investigating alleged irregularities in the allocation of publicly protected housing (VPP) in Playa de San Juan. So far, there are 15 people under investigation, including the former Councillor for Urbanism, Rocío Gómez, and the municipal architect Francisco Nieto.
The former councillor, who resigned in February, recently declared that she was unaware of any irregularities and that she became interested in the development before her political career. However, the justice system is investigating the exchange of flats she carried out with her parents-in-law to obtain a property on a higher floor.
This judicial process runs parallel to the commissions of investigation opened in both the City Council and Les Corts Valencianes. Mayor Luis Barcala himself has described the events as the “Les Naus scandal”, a case that has already caused multiple resignations in the Urbanism and Housing department.
