Court of Auditors investigates purchase of 6.3 million euro Madrid penthouse without legal justification
The Court of Auditors rejects closure of proceedings regarding the acquisition of the Chamberí penthouse by the Madrid Regional Government and appoints an investigating delegate to examine possible irregularities.
Investigation into the Madrid penthouse purchase
The Court of Auditors has rejected closure of proceedings regarding the acquisition of the Chamberí penthouse by the Madrid Regional Government and has escalated proceedings to appoint an investigating delegate to examine the transaction. According to tribunasegovia.com, the court finds indications that the 6.3 million euros paid for the property may have constituted an outflow of public funds "completely lacking legal justification".
In a ruling by the supervisory institution, it is noted that there are doubts as to whether the property was acquired for purposes other than the administrative use that Planifica Madrid is legally permitted to have. Planifica Madrid is the public entity that carried out the purchase. The court considers that the funds of this entity should be restricted to the acquisition or rental of properties linked to administrative activity.
Initial overpricing identified
The Court of Auditors rejects the arguments of the Madrid regional government that there was no overpricing in the transaction. According to the ruling, the acquisition involved an initial overpricing estimated at a minimum of 57,115.81 euros. The purchase price of 6,300,000 euros allegedly exceeded market value, which the February valuation placed at 6,242,884.19 euros.
The institution rejects the justification based on an October valuation, carried out after the penthouse was purchased in April. This temporal sequence invalidates, according to the court, any argument concerning the alignment between the price paid and market value at the time of the transaction.
Context of the acquisition
The Madrid Regional Government initially argued that the penthouse was being purchased to meet needs arising from works at the Real Casa de Correos, the seat of the regional Presidency. However, on 30 July, only one month after newspaper El País revealed the transaction, the government announced that it would sell the property and allocate the funds obtained to the reconstruction of the Sierra Oeste following summer fires.
The sale tender was published with a starting price of 6.7 million euros. To date, the auction has remained unsuccessful on two occasions.
Complaint and next steps
The case was opened following complaints from PSOE-M and Más Madrid filed after El País revealed the transaction on 29 July. The Court of Auditors will now investigate whether there was a possible misappropriation of public funds, considering that the indications identified prevent closure of proceedings at this preliminary stage.
A motion for reconsideration may be filed against the ruling within five days following its notification.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)