The decision, detailed in a court order dated March 11 and accessed by Europa Press, is final and cannot be appealed. Section 16 rejected the appeal lodged by both entities against a previous resolution from February 2, which had already dismissed a reform appeal against the initial dismissal in October 2025.
The plaintiffs argued that the 2018 agreement between Adif, Renfe, and the Distrito Castellana Norte company contained serious irregularities, including administrative malfeasance and embezzlement of public funds. Specifically, they claimed the agreement irregularly transformed an administrative concession into a sale of public land below its market value.
We cannot attribute illegality to the contract of December 18, 2018, even if a report from the State Legal Service in 2002 referred to such rights and the need for them to be considered.
However, the magistrates rejected this interpretation, noting that the issue of reversion rights alleged by the plaintiffs is being analyzed in the contentious-administrative jurisdiction, and that to date there is no “unequivocal judicial resolution that contemplates them.”
Regarding the alleged crime of embezzlement, based on a supposed detriment to public coffers due to a sale price lower than market value, the court considered that this thesis stems from an incorrect interpretation of the contract's legal nature, which “does not fall within the purview of this jurisdiction to interpret.” Therefore, the comparison of prices proposed by the plaintiff is precluded.
The Court concludes that many of the issues raised, such as the nature of the contract or potential economic harm, must be resolved in the contentious-administrative sphere and not in the criminal one. Furthermore, the order highlights the lack of solid evidentiary basis in the complaint, indicating that mere suspicions or debatable legal interpretations are insufficient to initiate criminal proceedings, thus preventing prospective investigations prohibited by law.
