The magistrate investigating the case of public protected housing (VPP) awards in the Les Naus residential complex, in Playa de San Juan (Alicante), has set June 17 for the testimony, as witnesses, of representatives of five companies --Block Arquitectura SL; Edificio Teulada SL; Livanto Mediterránea SL; Quatre Carreres Plaza, Cooperativa Valenciana; and Inurban SA--, as well as the Association of Real Estate Developers of the Province of Alicante (Provia).
This decision, adopted at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and communicated this Friday through an order, also includes the new appearance on the same day of two other witnesses who already testified on April 15: the head of the Territorial Housing Service of Alicante and the deputy territorial secretary of Housing in the province.
In parallel, the judge is requesting more documentation from the investigated developer, the sole administrator of Fraorgi, a company that acts as the manager of the Les Naus cooperative, built on a municipal plot that was sold off.
Specifically, she requests the "preliminary construction project and other documented studies on the construction of the plot that in his statement he claimed to have been prepared before September 5, 2018, when the tender announcement and specifications were published."
Likewise, she requires the "list of employees of Fraorgi SLU and Iuvenale Somnia SL who between the years 2021 and 2025 participated in the process of attracting cooperative members and in the preparation and management of the waiting list."
These new proceedings come after the developer of Fraorgi appeared as investigated on May 20, along with other defendants, including the former PP councilor for Urban Planning in Alicante, Rocío Gómez, who was awarded a VPP in Les Naus.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, the businessman stated, among other things, that they held a meeting with the mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala (PP), and with the then councilor for Urban Planning to demand the return of an alleged overpayment for the land or, failing that, compensation with other land, without their request being heeded.
Key testimonies in the Ministry of Housing
In relation to the Ministry, on April 15, the deputy territorial secretary of Housing, in his first statement as a witness, explained that the official responsible for the VPP permits, who was disciplined by the Generalitat and is under investigation in this case, told him literally: "I'm sorry, I screwed up and I will assume all responsibilities."
Before the new testimonies on June 17, the court plans to take statements as investigated parties, on the 5th, from nine VPP awardees. Among them is the partner of the aforementioned regional official in charge of permits, who works as an architect in the Alicante City Council.
This public employee, who testified as investigated on May 20, maintained that he managed all the Les Naus files because he took on that workload due to a lack of staff and the departure of the person who previously processed them. He added that he did not consider recusing himself regarding his wife's permit, considering his role to be merely formal, and denied having made any errors in the processing of the permits.
The appearance of CGT as a popular accusation
In another order issued also this Friday, the judge has required the CGT union to provide a bond of 3,000 euros to admit its appearance in the proceedings as a popular accusation, as reported by the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV).
If its intervention is finally authorized, the Les Naus case will have three popular accusations, as CGT would join those currently exercised by the Ciudadanos party and the municipal group of the PSPV in the Alicante City Council.