The court has ruled that the Arrecife City Council must pay another 4 million euros more "due to the inaction of the former mayor of Arrecife, from the PSOE, Eva de Anta." The City Council points out that "neither the socialist, nor her government, complied with the firm judicial resolutions to settle the debt for the expropriation of the land next to Ginory, next to the Chaco de San Ginés" and recall that it was "an expropriation that a Local Government of the Socialist Party made, now almost 30 years ago."
In a statement they explain that "in July 2016, under a PSOE Mayoralty, the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands determined that the Arrecife City Council had to pay 20,012,266 euros, plus legal interest, to the heirs of Aurora Paloma Fúster. Already in 2006, the Provincial Expropriation Jury set the value of the expropriation at 31 million. And in June 2010, the Provincial Expropriation Jury set its last fair price of 20 million euros."
"In March 2019, with Eva de Anta (PSOE) as mayor, and Cristina Duque as advisor (her intervention is recorded in the files), the Contentious-Administrative Court No. 3 of Las Palmas condemned the socialist Government of Arrecife to be penalized, raising the interest from 3% to 5% on the 20 million euros (set as principal for the expropriation of the land)," they add.
Now, a new ruling from the TSJC, dated October 3, 2024, closes this lawsuit and puts an exact figure on the amount that the Arrecife City Council has been condemned to pay, both in legal and default interest.
The Contentious Chamber of the TSJC, second section, determines that the "default interest must be set at the sum of €4,034,714.03 and the procedural interest at the sum of €8,203,382.85. and, discounting the income made on account, the amount remaining to be paid amounts to 6,058,024 euros, according to the calculations contained in the appeal."
"Correct decision to settle the debt"
From the City Council they recall that "in October 2019, in the previous term with the mayor Astrid Pérez (PP), the Contentious-Administrative Court Number 3 of Las Palmas approved a payment plan proposed by the mayor, Astrid Pérez, to pay the millionaire compensation for the expropriation of the plot in the area of the Charco de San Ginés, known as the land next to Ginory. A payment plan, which with Eva de Anta was not accepted by the Justice, and also aggravated the penalty of interest rates, up to 5%, when in those years the rates were around 0.40%".
"As a result of the initiative in the previous term, a loan was signed, with an interest rate of 0.41%, which allowed a great saving in legal interest, paying the debt for that expropriation. The aforementioned Payment Plan had the support in the autumn of 2019, in the previous term, of the councilors of the PSOE, and now in the opposition, Cristina Duque, Alfredo Mendoza and Roy González. When that payment plan was agreed, supported by the Justice, Cristina Duque was the Councilor for Finance," they add.
The City Council has already paid the principal and a large part of the legal interest. With the sentence now known, the amount for "the penalty in the stage of Eva de Anta" is quantified, which must be paid by the City Council in the coming months.
"Time has proven that the operation to settle the Ginory debt has been successful for the city of Arrecife, as the legal interest rates have been stopped since its payment, with significant savings since the high interest rates that have had to be paid for occupying the land will be for history, in compliance with a sentence," they express.
Finally, they affirm that "the TSJC determines in its last sentence, where it quantifies the total amount of interest for this expropriation, that the Arrecife City Council only "remains to pay the amount that amounts to 6,058,024 euros, according to the calculations contained in the appeal."