Daily Express: Police called in as public property sold on the cheap

POLICE have been called in after one of Scotland's biggest councils sold off public properties for £5million below market value.

Aberdeen City Council sold prime sites to private developers.

Spending watchdog Audit Scotland found Seafield sports club, worth £2.9million, was sold for £685,000, while the College Street multistorey car park fetched just half of its £3.6million value.

The council already faces public outcry after cutting £27million from its budget and faces a probe by the Accounts Commission next month.

Grampian Police have been passed details of the report, but it is thought Audit Scotland concluded there was no evidence of fraud.

Audit Controller Caroline Gardiner said she was unable to decide if errors represented "naivety, incompetence or a deliberate attempt to mislead." She said: "The internal and external audit reports both point to serious weaknesses in governance and accountability." Audit Scotland's inquiry was launched after officers at the local authority expressed concerns over six property sales between 2001 and early 2006. Mark Wallace, left, of the Taxpayers' Alliance said: "Public officers without suitable experience are in negotiations with businessmen and the taxpayer is fleeced as a result of incompetence." A Grampian Police spokeswoman said: "The council approached us over the report and we're liaising with the procurator fiscal."