BCN World and GEPEC-EdC take to court irregularities in Govern casino authorization
On Thursday, September 17, the Spanish organizations BCN World and GEPEC-EdC filed a legal complaint with the Tarragona Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in which they expose alleged irregularities committed by the Government of Catalonia, namely the Departments of Economy and Finance and Territory and Sustainability, in the authorization of the casino gaming license to Hard Rock International, and in the operation of the sale of lands owned by Caixa bank.
The Caixa Catalunya – Caixa d’Estalvis de Catalunya – the Savings Bank of Catalonia, is the second most important financial institution in Catalonia, and the first in respect of financial institutions partially publicly owned
Strictly speaking, Spanish prosecutors have been informed that the Department of Economy and Finance has not responded to a request from the two entities, made in May this year, whereby a document filed in the Court denounced granting the casino license to Hard Rock International as invalid because the company, owned by the Seminola tribe of Florida, USA, could not prove the availability for ownership of the land for the construction of the hotel complex. This condition is required by the regulatory bases of the public tender to authorize the casino license and that was even annotated by the Department itself in a clarifying paragraph that has been violated, as Hard Rock lost the availability of ownership of the land, and that the only purchase option at its disposal had expired. Proof of this is that in the end it was the Generalitat that had to acquire the land through the public company INCASOL, which will have to sell to Hard Rock.
The filed judicial complaint has also reported on abuse of power and irregular use of the time extensions granted to Hard Rock to submit certain documentation required by the Generalitat, which violates the deadlines provided for by the law as well as provisions stated in the administrative regime. These two acts may allegedly constitute the crime of corrupt practices.
Further, the recent publication in the press of the conditions and clauses between Caixa, INCASOL and Hard Rock International, constitute another element that may be deemed an alleged crime of embezzlement and jeopardy of public funds. The two complaining entities have again requested the Generalitat de Catalunya to cancel the casino license and archive the public tender file, making at the same time all relevant disclaimers on its responsibilities in a timely manner.
