Badalona City Council / Engestur

June-2024

Following a report filed against the municipal company of Badalona Ens de Gestió Urbanística, SA (hereinafter, ENGESTUR), this Office investigated alleged irregularities in the award of contracts related to telecommunications and security services. With regard to the contracts formalized before the entry into force of the Public Sector Contracts Law (hereinafter, LCSP), in 2018, ENGESTUR violated, for each of the contracts, the clause relating to their duration, which established that minor contracts could not have a duration exceeding one year or be subject to extension. With regard to the contract for the rental of servers and maintenance of applications, formalized after the entry into force of the LCSP, initiated for one year, in 2021, but supposedly in force at the time the investigation was carried out, the clause relating to the duration and extension was again violated. Therefore, ENGESTUR did not promote new tenders within the deadline and in the appropriate manner, but adopted tacit continuity agreements for the provision of certain services under the same agreed execution and economic conditions. This violation of public procurement regulations regarding the duration of minor contracts also implies a violation of the principles of public competition and free access that govern it, and, therefore, the full nullity of all contracts analyzed. Thus, ENGESTUR was urged to initiate, urgently and mandatory, the ordinary procedures provided for by the LCSP that respect the principles of competition and publicity, in accordance with the estimated value of the contracts. In a recent contract analyzed, a series of irregularities were identified, but the existence of no real or apparent conflict of interest was found between the managers of the analyzed companies.