Reports signed by dead geologist put safety of buildings in five regions into question

An investigation into the alleged falsification of signatures of licensed geologists, including one deceased expert, on geotechnical reports has raised the alarm over the safety of buildings in five regions.

Houses, industrial warehouses, walls and, in one case, a health center in the regions of La Rioja, Asturias, Castilla y León, the Basque Country and Navarre are among the projects that now have a question mark hanging over their safety after the Official Association of Geologists (ICOG) detected irregularities in reports made by Industria de Perforaciones Cantabricas SL, which is headquartered in Getxo in Bizkaia and also operates as IPC Estudios Geotécnicos.

The association has been able to notify some developers about the fraud but not government authorities, which after granting planning permission pass responsibility for applying for a new study — in the event of irregularities being detected — on to the architects and developers.

The ICOG presented a criminal lawsuit against Industria de Perforaciones Cantabricas SL, to which EL PAÍS has had access, to a Madrid court in October 14. The firm’s modus operandi allegedly consisted of using the signatures of three licensed geologists — two of whom had no knowledge their signatures were being used and one whose signature was used first while he was on sick leave with cancer for two years, and then again after his death.