Spain’s top criminal court on Monday opened a trial on corruption charges against ailing Catalan nationalist figurehead Jordi Pujol, a titan of Spanish politics following dictator General Francisco Franco’s death.
The trial of Pujol, 95, and his seven children for alleged criminal association and money laundering centres on the origin of the fortune of the man who led Catalonia’s regional government from 1980 to 2003.
Pujol revealed in 2014 that his family kept undeclared money for more than 30 years in Andorra, a tiny state perched in the Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France.
He said the money was an inheritance from his father, a wealthy businessman, and denied it came from kickbacks for public contracts during his time in office.
After years of investigations, Pujol and his children were ordered to stand trial, but his frail health and cognitive decline put in doubt whether he would face proceedings.
Pujol’s lawyers said he was not physically able to go on trial, but the Audiencia Nacional court decided on Monday that he should take part by video link from his Barcelona home.
The proceedings are due to last six months, with prosecutors seeking nine years in prison for Pujol, who will testify at the end.
His children face jail terms of up to 29 years, if convicted.
Advertisement
After Franco’s death in 1975, Pujol became one of democratic Spain’s most influential politicians as leader of Catalonia’s now defunct centre-right Convergence and Union alliance that supported minority governments in Madrid.
In exchange, Pujol won more powers for Catalonia in health and education as well as securing the creation of an independent regional police force, earning him the nickname of “Spain’s viceroy”.
Despite championing Catalan nationalism for decades, which saw Franco’s regime jail him for two years, he always argued the wealthy northeastern region should remain a part of Spain.
