An investigation into supposed irregularities surrounding the construction of the Ansenuza Hotel Casino and Spa has been closed after Córdoba’s Public Prosecutor’s Office determined that no wrong doing had occurred.
The controversy surrounds an estimated $44m spent by the Lotería de Córdoba in the construction of the Ansenuza Hotel Casino and Spa in Miramar.
The prosecutor in charge of the case, Gustavo Dalma, made the decision to shelve the investigation after engineers and experts working on behalf of the judiciary stated that they did not find any evidence of overpricing during its construction and ruled that the work carried out confirmed to the standards of good building practice.
“They have spent a fortune, given that Miramar is [already] lacking other things to improve its tourist offering,” said Joaquín Marchetti, operator of Hotel Marchetti in the resort town.
While the exact cost of the complex is still unknown, according to some estimates it cost as much as seven times the amount that had been previously envisaged.
Last September, three opposition legislators from the province – Aurelio García Elorrio, Juan Pablo Quinteros and Liliana Montero – denounced a number of irregularities centring on the construction of the hotel and demanded that an investigation into whether work was carried out at above market value.
However, Dalma, who did not accept the three legislators as plaintiffs in the case, found that no wrongdoing had occurred.
Despite this, García Elorrio, Quinteros and Montero, have announced that they will contest the findings in court.
“Once again, Córdoba’s justice system confirms its alliance of impunity with political power,” said Montero, commenting on the decision.
Quinteros, meanwhile, said: “The prosecutor has confirmed that the State is a stupid client who can be charged any price which, ultimately, the people of Cordoba end up paying.”
