Public property sold twice by former Council

The premises in question
(Photo: europasur.es)

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) The councillor now in charge of Town Planning, Francisco Espada (PSOE), recently announced that his Council has discovered that when the PP was in power it carried out the double sale of business premise through the municipal real estate company Emusvil, adding that the matter would be put in the hands of the court because "it is an irregular sale that could constiturte a crime." The first sale took place on May 6, 2009, when Juan Carlos Juarez was Mayor and was to compensate a businessman who had been hired by the Sociedad Municipal de Servicios to exploit events at the Palacio de Congresos (Convention Centre). Since this contract didn't materialise, the shop premises valued at €310,000 and two garages worth €36,000 and in the same Reina Sofía council housing complex that is very close to being finalised, were given to the businessman in exchange. According to Muñoz, "this could already be an illegal matter" and legal advice is being taken.>>>
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The second 'sale' took place on October 24, 2010, when Alejandro Sánchez was Mayor. Muñoz is of the opinion that it is Sánchez who "incurrs in illegality because it is he who sells it the second time."

The councillor also pointed out that it is the courts that must now decide to whom the shop belongs, and whoever is the loser must be given back the €300,000. Both payments for the same property "have been received and spent."

Apparently, and always according to Muñoz, the second buyer also purchased another two shops, so the sum total of the operation was for over €800,000, which proved "12 years of maladministration."


Former Councillor María Cruz Atienza (PP), who was in charge of Housing and a vice-president of Emusvil with both former mayors says that it is not a double sale, but "two contracts for the same property." Indeed, she says, there was a "private contract between Juárez" and the first businessman to compensate him for the money he had put up to run the convention centre, and "this was not a client of Emusvil, but of the Town Hall."

As to the second buyer, the ex-Councillor said that he had wanted three adjoining shops, so the municipal company proposed giving the first buyer another property in the same Reina Sofía building.


María Cruz Atienza added that the business that bought the three consecutive properties wanted the fourth, which continues to be "payment in kind" -her words- that Juárez arranged with the first buyer. Therefore,  Atienza explains, the second buyer must buy this last property from Emusvil "as it has no title deeds (escritura) yet" and later "the municipal company must pay the other one, who had received it as compensation."

For his part, Alejandro Sánchez defended the work carried out by Atienza at the head of Emusvil, "which has always been efficient and with scrupulous attention to legality."