"Jordi Pujol Ferrusola was a trusted person and, therefore, there was no contract involved."

San Fernando de HenaresThe trial of the Pujol family is progressing well. In two hours, seven witnesses testified, expected to shed light on the commissions received by the eldest son of the former president of the Generalitat (Catalan government) in exchange for brokering purchase deals. Tuesday's session focused on Copisa, which—according to Judge José de la Mata's investigation—paid a total of 2.9 million euros in commissions to companies owned by Jordi Pujol Ferrusola. Shortly before the session began, one lawyer admitted to being apprehensive about what some witnesses might say, but upon leaving, they were satisfied. "A perfect ten, we didn't even break a sweat," another lawyer remarked. One of the most noteworthy testimonies came from Orlando de Prorrata-Doria, the CEO of Copisa Constructora Pirenaica, who spoke about the expansion of Repsol's Cartagena refinery. The eldest son received 612,000 euros in three invoices for informing the company about this business opportunity. There was no contract.

"They pay €199,000 in fees for a phone call?" asked prosecutor Fernando Bermejo, referring to the first of the three invoices—he omitted the third during the questioning. In this session, he questioned the witnesses in a more agitated tone, though he accepted some of the answers with resignation. "We're talking about a contract worth almost €36 million," said Prorrata-Doria. And, just like Jordi Puig did this on Monday —the brother of former regional minister Felip Puig—, has acknowledged that there is no contract or document to prove it. "Jordi Pujol Ferrusola regularly worked with other departments of our group and was a trusted individual. Therefore, there was no contract involved," he explained. Why were three invoices issued? Orlando de Prorrata-Doria said he doesn't know, but added that the number of invoices is "independent," since what matters is "the total amount."

How much is paid for intermediation?

Another anticipated witness was Xavier Tauler Ferré, a childhood friend of the eldest son, former CEO of Copisa Constructora Pirenaica, and who nearly joined him in the dock. He admitted that €139,200 was paid to Imisa—one of Pujol Ferrusola's companies—for brokering the sale of a stake in solar power plants in the municipalities of Alcázar de San Juan and Pedro Muñoz: "He called me, asked if it was true [that we were selling them], and told me he had a potential deal." In return, he "personally" negotiated the percentage to be paid with Pujol Ferrusola, which ended up being 1.5%.

In fact, the amount of the commissions paid for intermediation was a recurring theme throughout the session. Under questioning by Jorge Ayo, the lawyer for businessman Josep Cornadó, more than one witness described paying commissions of between 1% and 5% as "common practice," payable only upon successful completion of a deal. Ayo also emphasized that all the transactions discussed were private deals between companies without any involvement from public administrations. Despite some instances of memory lapses, it also became clear that intermediation was a regular practice for Jordi Pujol Ferrusola. "When I was reviewing a deal, Mr. Cornadó would tell me that Pujol had brought it to me," recalled José Luis Prada, who worked as a technician at Comapa Inmobiliaria—part of the Copisa Group.

However, he himself framed the involvement of third parties in these types of transactions as normal: "It's normal for purchase deals to come to you through intermediaries." Previously, Xavier Tauler Ferré had spoken along the same lines: "It's common. It's very important to seize the business opportunity and have that possibility. There's prior work involved in seeking out opportunities and offering them to companies." Jordi Solà, who managed Comapa Inmobiliaria, recalled that at that time, during the real estate boom, the company "was very interested in acquiring land for the future." And that's why it was important to be aware of the available offers. Given how everything unfolded, upon leaving, one of the lawyers questioned the prosecutor's questioning: "He has no idea how the business world works."