Murga Bar owner files constitutional motion in court in dispute with Govt
The owner of the Murga bar in the Victoria Stadium said it had filed a constitutional motion in the Supreme Court over its dispute with the Gibraltar Government after negotiations for a financial settlement broke down and the lease for the property was terminated early.
In confirming the development, VSB Ltd responded to the latest Government statement following multiple public exchanges after the row flared up in the run-up to Christmas.
The claim from VSB Ltd, which is owned by Allan Asquez, relates to a store and three kiosks within the stadium, as well as the Murga Bar.
In a statement, the company said that at no time had it sought compensation in excess of £2 million property as alleged by the Government.
VSB Ltd said it had arrived at a settlement with the Government last August and that thereafter, before and after becoming a minister, Gemma Arias-Vasquez had “tried to change material aspects of the settlement” to an extent that meant it could not be formalised.
The Government had previously rejected the claim that Ms Arias-Vasquez had renegotiated the settlement, but the company said it “cannot but agree to disagree” with that position.
It said the early termination of the lease “was threatened by Minister Arias-Vasquez during talks” and later acted on because VSB Ltd would not forego its legal rights to receive reasonable compensation, adding that the company had never threatened to discontinue negotiations with the Government.
“The valuation set out in the press release by Government in which it is claimed that an offer in the sum of £800,000 was purportedly made to VSB Limited is totally incomprehensible given the restrictive nature of the terms attached to the proposed future lease arrangements which were both unlawful and unreasonable,” the company said.
VSB Ltd also renewed its criticism of the new stadium project, questioning the extent to which it would be used and arguing that, of the ten senior teams projected to use the stadium each week, fewer than 50 Gibraltarians would be on the pitch as most registered players were not Gibraltarians.
It made a similar observation about most persons officiating at matches and attending as spectators.
According to VSB Ltd, neither youth leagues, futsal or the women’s league were projected to be playing at the new stadium, while the sports hall originally planned for the project had been removed in favour of residential accommodation for sale.
“The persons - and it is not the GFA as an organisation - who will undoubtedly benefit from the project are those who will make millions from selling the residential and commercial properties to be built,” the company said.
And it added: “VSB Limited has now lodged a constitutional motion in the Supreme Court and therefore will not be issuing any further press releases in reply to Government until such time as the civil proceedings are terminated.”