For the first time, a president of the Generalitat (Government of Catalonia) will sit in the dock on 27 January. The offenses for which a judge accused Jordi Pujol, his wife and three children (Marta, Mirela and Pere) are tax fraud and one particularly serious, for money laundering. Both carry a penal punishment of several years in prison. The newspaper El Mundo published today that the Pujol family would have hidden 20 million dollars (16 million euros) to finance between 2010 and 2013.
Eight direct family members of the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya accused are brought to justice by the activities both marriage and her children Oriol, Jordi, Oleguer, Marta, Mireia and Pere. Apart from the immediate family, two political family of former President of the Generalitat Anna and Mercè Gironés Vidal, who are or have been wives of his two sons Mayores are also imputed.
In this way, Josep is the only child that no judge attributed to criminal conduct.
Two judges of Barcelona, two of the National Court and Magistrate Liechestain proceedings have been opened in recent months against them for crimes ranging from money laundering and tax evasion to bribery and influence peddling. In four of them members of the family have already formally the procedural status of defendants.
The Pujol case linked to a major corruption scandal, has an extraordinary impact in Catalonia where he was the leader most respected and creator of moderate nationalism and for 23 years holder of the autonomous region. But also affects Spain where he was recognized as one of the few political leaders with a sense of status, high intelligence and prudence that allowed him to be the true balance to enable the governance of Spanish state.
All this enormous political and moral flow is in ruins since the Pujol himself admitted last July 25 it had held without declaring the Treasury for 34 years a fortune on fiscal accounts. “I just do not have time to legalize it” was justified as joking.
The judge wants to investigate the origin of the fortune of Pujol including other causes and research that are committed the rest of his six Marta Ferrusola children and his wife, a lady of great personal prestige. The bright and accurate reports of special Laundering Investigations Unit and Tax Fraud (UDEF) has made own calculations noting that manages the family business in several countries, Argentina one of the most important, could exceed 1,600 million euros .
The summons to Pujol occurs after receiving the court’s statements of income and complementary heritage submitted to the Tax Office. Before the confession of the former president of the Generalitat, his wife and six children presented several additional statements which admitted amounts to pay much higher Hacienda those contained in the original statements.
For now, the judge investigating the complaint has not taken any decision on the other four sons of former Jordi, Josep Oriol and Oleguer. However, Jordi Pujol Ferrusola is already charged by the National Court laundering and tax fraud; Oriol, for bribery and influence peddling in the ITV case and Oleguer, for laundering and tax fraud following an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor.
In the auto head of the court of Instruction No. 31 complaining that the president, which already asked the judge letters rogatory to Switzerland and Andorra, where the clan Pujol had hidden part of its assets in various accounts-also called another letter rogatory for the same purpose to the Liechtenstein authorities after it emerged that justice in this country investigates the president of the Generalitat for an alleged crime of money laundering. Also, the judge asks to letters rogatory to Andorra, after first refused by the Andorran justice because they lacked some specifications, the same argument as claimed justice Switzerland.
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