“A municipal authority has already ordered a thorough audit of this absurd legal-urbanistic construction,” stated the municipal executive, led by social democrat Luís Filipe Menezes, in a statement.
This announcement follows the decision of the panel of judges at the Gaia Court, where the Babel Operation trial is underway. The case involves alleged manipulation and violation of norms in urban licensing processes in Gaia and saw the municipality in the Porto district withdraw as an assistant and drop its claim for 50,000 euros in compensation in the process.
“The municipal executive, in a decision to be presented at the next council meeting, has decided to withdraw the civil compensation request in the Babel case. In fact, the previous executive, which has fervently claimed the innocence of the main accused in recent months, the former vice-president, should have already done this,” it was noted.
The current municipal leadership emphasized that “what is very serious and should be thoroughly investigated is a public-private partnership deemed illegal by the executive, without a public tender, violating the Municipal Master Plan (PDM), which exchanges hundreds of millions of euros granted to a private group for a return of a few tens of millions over 25 years.”
The issue revolves around what was described as a “very serious legal and urbanistic operation,” for which the council had collective responsibility.
The Skyline/Cultural and Congress Center project included plans for apartments, a hotel, a congress center, an urban square, and a parking lot, but it never materialized.
“Justice should not stop at occasional scapegoats; it must get to the bottom of the issue — and we even admit that it might already be indirectly doing so,” it was stressed.
The Babel Operation involves 16 defendants, including the former vice-president of Gaia’s City Council, Patrocínio Azevedo, real estate businessmen Paulo Malafaia and Elad Dror, and lawyer João Pedro Lopes, who face numerous charges of economic crimes such as corruption and influence peddling.
The Public Ministry (MP) alleges that Elad Dror, founder of the Fortera group, and Paulo Malafaia conspired to develop real estate projects in Vila Nova de Gaia, particularly those named Skyline/Cultural and Congress Center, Riverside, and Hotel Azul, with the alleged favoritism of the former vice-president of Gaia, who would in return receive money and material goods such as watches.
The trial, which began in January, is in its final stages, with the Public Ministry prosecutors presenting their arguments since Thursday, expected to conclude on Tuesday.
