Andorra Prosecutors Probe Sant Julià de Lòria Over Illegal Building Permits and Landfill Fraud

Prosecutors in Andorra are investigating potential urban planning irregularities at Sant Julià de Lòria parish council, including building permits issued on plots lacking required services and unpaid dumping at the Rabassa landfill.

The probe, initiated in autumn 2025, targets the parish's Urban Planning Department for allegedly granting construction licences over 15 to 20 years on land in incomplete urbanisations. These plots did not qualify as "solar" under local rules, which mandate full infrastructure such as paved roads with adequate pavements, stormwater drainage, drinking water supply, and sewage connections—or standalone treatment systems. Permissions reportedly allowed new chalets on unpaved streets or sites without these essentials, with practices continuing until the start of the current municipal term.

The inquiry also examines rubble trucks using the council-owned Rabassa landfill without paying fees or undergoing mandatory vehicle checks, spanning a similar timeframe. This activity, detected amid heavy traffic despite minimal official authorisations, has caused estimated losses of €300,000 to €400,000—roughly 10% of the council's 2025 investment budget.

Major Conseller Cerni Cairat expressed surprise that the issues persisted for so long. Speaking to media outlets, he defended the council's response: upon detecting irregularities during an internal disciplinary probe against one Urban Planning official, it identified possible criminal elements and referred the case to prosecutors. "We acted with the firmness and diligence it deserved," Cairat said, noting the law requires reporting potential offences. The official remains employed but has been reassigned to the forestry department, with the administrative process suspended pending judicial outcome.

Prosecutors must now decide whether to file formal charges with the Batllia, which would assess evidence for trial. Separately, the department grapples with chronic understaffing and contracting inefficiencies, exacerbating costs during projects like the Parish Urban Planning Plan (POUP) revision. To address this, the council is hiring four specialists in engineering, architecture, public works, urbanism, and cadastral management.