In any case, the concession of the port of Ibiza, one of the most coveted in the world, had to be for the Ibiza Yacht Club. Between 2009 and 2018, the Port Authority of Palma did everything possible – and, according to the judge who has been investigating the case for years, also the impossible – so that the club continued to occupy the public domain as it has done since 1927. That is why the judge is prosecuting those responsible for the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands, headed by former President Joan Gual de Torrella, for deception, administrative fraud and bribery. Everything was endorsed by the port state lawyer Dolores Ripoll, who defended the infanta in the Noos case with the statement that “the motto 'We are all the Treasury' It is limited to the advertising field.” In a case without many precedents, the judge includes it in the equivalent of the indictment, to which elDiario.es has had access, the step prior to sending it to court.
The judge summarizes the concert in order to keep the Club Náutico de Ibiza (CNI) in its facilities despite the termination of the concession. “Unfair resolutions mean, as a practical consequence, that a pre-agreed individual is attributed the exploitation of part of the public port domain in an area, the Port of Ibiza, one of the most demanded in the world, which has very important ports. economic repercussions, with the result that the individual is 'hand-picked' who will exploit that public domain for the next 35 years,” says the magistrate of the Investigative Court 3 of Palma, Martina Mora, in the order in which she prosecutes 17. of the people, of the Port Authority and of two ports, have benefited from this alleged manipulation.
The Yacht Club is a household name on the island. With a thousand members it is a local reference. But it is also a fantastic company because of the high demand for yachts. Ports are in the public domain and therefore operate under concession; they cannot be private property. The CNI's contract dated back to the 1920s, so when it expired in 2009, it began contacting local authorities to obtain an extension. At the time, Dolores Ripoll, the state lawyer advising the Palma port authority, “concluded that the CNI does not meet the requirements set out in law to be considered of strategic and relevant importance,” the judge said. That closed the door to extra time.
Yet, according to the June 17 decision, they distorted the procedure to accommodate the requests of the parties on the island, who voted in resolutions to keep the CNI there. The APB granted licenses to the CNI and the contesting courts quashed them when they realized that they were predetermined to go to the successful bidder.
The indictment also includes another similar case, but of less political significance, that of the Asmen Navy. Ports are big business and as concessions expire, coastal communities are trying to keep them in their previous owners without opening them up to competition. This has led to a European investigation and a series of lawsuits with different solutions.
The one in Palma was one of the most scandalous since Anti-Corruption filed a complaint and the judge opened the so-called Puertos case, which is now taking the first step towards the trial. “It is clear from the procedures carried out that there is sufficient solid evidence to understand that within the public body Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (hereinafter APB) the investigated Joan Gual de Torella (in his capacity as President of the Balearic Islands) body), Juan Carlos Plaza (in his capacity as director of the organization) and María Dolores Ripoll (in his capacity as state lawyer, advisor to the APB) agreed among themselves and with the individual beneficiary to grant two titles to the operation of the port in the public domain, deviating from the criteria of legality, transparency, objectivity and concurrence that must govern public decisions,” says the judge.
The 161-page order is harsh on the APB's actions: “These resolutions were issued in the knowledge of their injustice, of their defiance of the justice system and that they gave rise to a materially unfair outcome, imposing their will to everyone else. consideration”. “All this in order to unfairly favor the person to whom the exploitation of the public port domain has been awarded, in one case the CNI and in the other case the Marina Asmen entity, both participants, through their legal representatives, said agreement.” “The Board of Directors of the APB has issued several arbitrary and unjust resolutions to illegally and deliberately benefit the CNI in execution of the arbitrary will of then President Gual de Torrella.”
When there were eventually several competitors, the APB started to give priority to 'the roots' of the applicants. According to the judge, “the concept of 'rootedness' was introduced linked to the place (the island and the city of Ibiza) and the number of members that the Club had, which led to the researchers knowing that of the three simultaneous projects, only the CNI involved. “He was installed in the area (in fact he had been since 1927).”
The case has political consequences. The presidents of the port authorities are appointed by the autonomous communities. Gual, who is considered close to the PSOE, was appointed by Francina Armengol's executive and resigned from the case.
There are more charges for which the judge now asks the parties to charge or request the file. “The investigated Rafael Ruiz (mayor of Ibiza) [el socialista dejó el cargo en 2023]as a member of the Council, voted in favor of approving the assessment criteria precisely because he knew that they were for the benefit of the CNI and with the desire to obtain the award in favor of the said entity, being aware of its injustice and of resistance to free competition”.
While the controversial courts annulled the tenders, the CNI continued to occupy the port through annual temporary permits. This was the case between 2010 and 2021, despite the maximum term of this formula being three years. After the Puertos case broke, “a new contest was launched on the same public domain, resolved on April 19, 2024, where the CNI offer was not chosen.”
It is new that State Attorney Dolores Ripoll is involved in the investigation. Generally, state attorneys issue their legal reports and may or may not cover political decisions. But they are rarely accused of cheating. The Ripoll case caused a storm at the Public Prosecution Service because it was a colleague of his on the islands and with a lower rank, also State Attorney Enrique Braqueahis, who stood up. The defendants 'acted in this way even despite the numerous and well-founded legal objections of two Members of the State, Enrique Braquehais (State Attorney who held the position of State Member) and Jesús Gesé (State Ports Engineer who held the position). position of a member of the state) to which they did not give a reasonable answer, which clearly indicates an abuse of power.”
The judge emphasizes that since these two technicians were opposed, Gual and Ripoll “carried out the necessary maneuvers in Puertos del Estado and the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State, respectively, to ensure that the two members were somehow removed and to finally be able to approve the new CNI elections without opposition.” Braqueahis and Jesé ultimately resigned from the Port Authority board and are now key players in the investigation.
Throughout the proceedings, the magistrate points out that “a concert” took place between the Port Authority and the yacht club. “The interests of the CNI are defended by those responsible for the public body and not only by the representatives of the private entity or even more vehemently by public officials” despite the fact that “the defense of the interests of the CNI is not the simultaneous defense of the general interest that the public body of the Port Authority must pursue.”
The judge also prosecutes Javier Enríquez, representative of an entity that competed with the CNI for the award, as there are indications that he negotiated bribes with Gual in exchange for withdrawing the pleas he had submitted and that he systematically won for himself. authority. .