Doctors determine ex president Jordi Pujol not fit to stand trial, court exempts him from corruption case

Spain's National Court has decided that former Catalan president Jordi Pujol will not testify as a defendant in the corruption trial against his family and several businessmen, and will be exempt from the case.

Doctors examined the health of the man who was president of Catalonia from 1980 until 2003 on Monday morning before he was scheduled to testify, and ruled that the 95-year-old is not in apt physical and mental conditions to testify or stand trial.

Afterwards, the court magistrates briefly interviewed him and reached the same conclusion, exempting him from the legal case. 

Prosecutors were seeking nine years in prison for Pujol for corruption charges. Yet, proceedings will continue against his family members and other business associates. 

Background

On July 25, 2014, Pujol acknowledged that he had kept money overseas since 1980, as part of his father Florenci's inheritance. In the text shared to some media outlets, he asked for "forgiveness."

After the announcement, Pujol's legacy was questioned, despite his long tenure as Catalan president from 1980 to 2003. Many voters were emotionally affected, while others saw the announcement as treason. 

"With deep sorrow," Pujol said he was "the only one responsible" and he was open to appearing in court after news reports targeted the former president's wife Marta Ferrusola, and their seven children. He said that the money abroad was part of Florenci's inheritance left to Marta and the seven children as a backup in case Pujol's political career did not succeed.

Florenci was scared of what could happen to his son, who had previously been detained during the Franco regime for his political beliefs and left a career in finance to become a politician. Florenci considered this a "wrong decision with an uncertain future."

Eleven and a half years after this confession that shocked Catalonia, Pujol and his seven children are facing trial for corruption: illegal association or being part of a criminal organization, money laundering, forgery of commercial documents, tax evasion, and asset stripping.

The former president had faced nine years in prison, before Monday's developments exempting him from the case, for keeping around €4 million in Andorra and allegedly allowing his children to benefit from unlawful deals while he was in power.

Last November, Pujol appeared before the court via videoconference so magistrates could assess his health condition. At that time, they moved forward with the trial.

His legal team had repeatedly called for Pujol not to face trial.

Family and business people facing trial

However, his children will face trial: Jordi, Josep, Oriol, Marta, Mireia, Pere, and Oleguer. Marta Ferrusola, Pujol's wife, was excused from the trial for health reasons and passed away in July 2024.

Aside from the Pujol family, the court will try Mercè Gironès, the ex-wife of Jordi Pujol Ferrussola, the eldest son, as well as around fifteen businesspeople, including Luis Delso, Gustavo Buesa, and Carles Vilarrubi.

The judge called over 250 people to testify during more than 40 court sessions, such as family members, politicians, businesspeople, and law enforcement agents, as well as former bank managers from Andorra's Private Bank, and Victoria Álvarez, the ex-girlfriend of Jordi Pujol Ferrusola.

The prosecution office is seeking nine years in prison for Jordi Pujol for illegal association and money laundering, and between eight and 29 years for his children and Gironès.

The Spanish National Police does not believe all the money came from Pujol's father's inheritance and that it is the result of "unlawful payments" made by businesspeople in exchange for assigning construction projects when Jordi Pujol was the Catalan president.

Jordi Pujol's defense attorney says he never used his position to financially benefit the family, which is why they are calling for his and all the family's acquittal.

After his confession, Pujol was stripped of the honors assigned to him as part of his political past as Catalan president. The political party he founded, the center-right Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya, was dismantled and became the Partit Demòcrata Europeu Catala (PDeCAT), which later became Junts per Catalunya. A few days later, the far-right organization Manos Limpias filed a complaint against Pujol and Marta Ferrusola for tax fraud, money laundering, and other corruption-related offenses.

Pujol testified in court in January 2015 in Barcelona. In April 2021, the Spanish National Court upheld the judicial case and in June, it was ruled that the family will face trial. Late in 2024, the court announced the date of the trial.

Taking place at the National Court headquarters in San Fernando de Henares, outside Madrid, the trial started on Monday, November 24, and is expected to finish in May 2026.

Experts believe the ruling will not be announced until 2027. Once made public, it can be appealed to the Supreme Court, and later to the Constitutional Court.