Corruption trial against family and associates of former Catalan president comes to a wrap

The corruption trial against the family and business associates of former Catalan president Jordi Pujol Soley has come to a wrap. 

Testimony from around 200 witnesses was heard across 38 sessions, and magistrates have now concluded proceedings, awaiting sentencing - a phase known as 'vist per a sentència' in Catalan. The evidence has been seen, and now it's time for judges to weigh everything up and offer a verdict. 

Initially, Jordi Pujol himself was up for trial, but after medical assessment, it was decided that the 95-year-old was not fit to stand trial, and was instead exonerated from the case.

It's expected that the sentence will take some months to be reached and announced.

In the last sessions, the prosecution maintained their requests for sentences of up to 29 years in prison for Jordi Pujol Ferrusola, the eldest son of the former president, for money laundering and tax fraud, among others. The defenses, meanwhile, argued the facts are not criminal, and that there is no evidence against the accused.

No defendant used their right to have a last word during the testimony phase of the case.

The trial began in late November with doubts over whether or not Jordi Pujol Soley would be tried, due to his physical and cognitive state.

The majority of sessions have centred around the economic activity of the eldest son. Apart from the money he had in Andorra, the result of an 'inheritance' from his grandfather Florenci, according to the defence, Jordi Pujol Ferrusola participated in numerous investments and sales in various parts of Catalonia, other parts of Spain, and in countries such as Mexico, Argentina and Gabon, among others.

Almost all the witnesses described him as a hyperactive man who acted as an intermediary between companies interested in buying, selling, or investing in all kinds of businesses, from real estate, landfills, energy, tourism, infrastructure, and others.

His defense and the businessmen involved, as well as most of the prosecution's witnesses, allege that working without a contract and charging a commission of between 1-5% if the operation was successful was normal in the sector.

The prosecutors allege that, in reality, Pujol Ferrusola did not intervene in these operations, but collected the commissions so that the entrepreneurs could access public contracts.

The other fundamental point of the trial was the origin of the family fortune in Andorra.

The thesis of the defense is that the father of the former president, grandfather Florenci, accumulated significant wealth during the Franco regime as a stockbroker, through currency smuggling and other activities. His son was imprisoned for his political activity during the 60s, and this made the man doubt the family's economic stability.

For this reason, he would have left a large amount of money in Andorra which he gave to his grandchildren.

The eldest son took over the management of these funds in 1990, and from 1992 he began to distribute them between the various accounts of each brother, a process which ended in 2004

Some brothers continued to make investments, like Jordi himself, as well as Josep and Oleguer. In contrast, others barely touched the money until the Andorran bank Andbank kicked them out in 2010 and transferred the money to the BPA.

In 2012 they took advantage of Minister Montoro's tax amnesty and in 2014 the case exploded with the publication of the famous screenshot in the newspaper 'El Mundo' and the public confession of the ex-president.

Only Oriol Pujol, the only one who went into politics, returned the money to his older brother in 2009.

The court will now have to issue a ruling, a process which is expected to take several months.

Prosecutors and the State Bar maintained their initial requests for sentences against all the defendants: 29 years and 25 years in prison, respectively, for illicit association, money laundering, falsification of a commercial document, tax fraud, and frustration in execution for Jordi Pujol Ferrusola; 17 years for Mercè Gironès, his ex-wife; and 14, and 4.5 years, for Josep Pujol.

For the rest of the brothers, the State Attorney's Office did not ask for a penalty, while the prosecution demanded eight years in prison each.