In Alicante, the judge presiding over the investigation into the allocation of municipal apartments in the Les Naus complex on San Juan Beach has summoned 15 people for questioning as suspects. Among those involved are the former head of urban planning Rocío Gómez, former contracts director María Pérez-Hickman, the municipal architect, as well as the sole administrator of Fraorgi—the company that managed the developer cooperative.
Investigators also turned their attention to the head of the protected housing section at the Conselleria de Vivienda, Empleo, Juventud e Igualdad. This official was suspended after it emerged that he had approved controversial transactions and registered one of the apartments in his partner’s name, an Alicante city hall employee. According to the court, the apartments were sold at an average price of 200,000 euros, though the market value of similar properties in the area is twice as high.
Who received the apartments
The scandal broke after it was revealed that a significant portion of the new owners were current officials or employees of the Alicante city hall, their relatives, and close associates. The city is governed by Luis Barcala’s team from the Partido Popular. Among the recipients were also individuals who had access to information about the project or participated in its implementation. The Les Naus complex became the first attempt in nearly two decades to offer affordable housing in a prestigious coastal area, where municipal land was sold to the developer below market value. As a result, 80-square-meter apartments with a pool and padel courts ended up in the hands of a limited circle of people.
Investigative actions and new summonses
The court proceedings are ongoing: in addition to key officials, ten more individuals—recipients of nine apartments—have been summoned as suspects. According to the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunitat Valenciana, seven witnesses will also be interviewed in the coming months. Among them are heads and specialists from the departments of housing policy and municipal property management, as well as the chief construction oversight architect.
All summonses for questioning have been issued at the request of the anti-corruption prosecutor. The judge rejected the Ciudadanos party’s request to question the head of the protected housing section as a witness, since the prosecutor’s office considers him one of the possible participants in the scheme.
Context and similar cases
The Les Naus story became one of the most discussed in the region, as it touches on issues of transparency in the distribution of municipal housing and oversight of officials’ actions. Similar investigations have repeatedly drawn the attention of Spanish courts. For example, in Cantabria, employees of the Demarcación de Costas were previously charged after the tragedy at El Bocal beach, where six people died due to negligence. More details about this case can be found in the article on the court proceedings regarding the deaths in Santander.
