A witness in the Pujol case: "Someone used our Andorran account"

MadridThe accounts held by the Pujol Ferrusola family in Andorra were the focus of the thirteenth session of the trial, which has been underway for two and a half months at the National Court. The eldest son—who continues to attend every session in person—watched as the prosecutor focused on transfers between Andorran bank accounts belonging to people who claim to know nothing about them. Six individuals are alleged to have sent or received money from Jordi Pujol Ferrusola. In total, €762,000 received and €204,000 paid, all allegedly moved without the account holders' knowledge. The defense for the family of the former president of the Generalitat (Catalan government) maintains they have no idea, attributes it to an error, and blames the bank. Conversely, the prosecution believes these are "simulated transactions" to "conceal the origin" of the money and mask the illegal commissions the eldest son allegedly received. He claims they predate the major business transactions for which he was paid as an intermediary.

One of the witnesses was Jaume Puigarnau, who, along with Domènech Roig and Baltasar Pineda, had an account in Andorra. He received 30 million pesetas – 180,000 euros – in May 1993 from Jordi Pujol Ferrusola. As he did during the investigation, he asserted that he has never had any relationship with the eldest son of the former president of the Generalitat: "We know nothing, they used our account," he replied to prosecutor Fernando Bermejo. Baltasar Pineda, who also testified, concurred. Another key figure has been Carles Serradell, who received 90 million pesetas – 540,000 euros – in December 1992. He denied having any relationship or contact with Jordi Pujol i Soley's eldest son or with Mercè Gironès, who was his wife at the time, and recalled what he told the police: "A third of it should be mine, tell me where I have to go to collect it."

His account was the same as that of three other witnesses: Ignacio Maria Coll, who allegedly paid 9 million pesetas – 54,000 euros – to the eldest son in January 1991; María del Carmen Pino, who received 7 million pesetas – 42,000 euros – on February 25, 1992; and 2 million pesetas – 150,000 euros – in January 1994. Amid all these unanswered questions, who could shed light on this? The mystery surrounding who was moving that money is Josep Maria Pallerola, who managed Pujol's accounts at Andbank, and who will have to testify as a witness in the coming weeks.

A real university project

One witness who has not been as supportive of the prosecution's case is Núria Villena, who paid 10 million pesetas – 60,000 euros – to Jordi Pujol Ferrusola in January 1991. It was a "specific project" aimed at bringing American universities to Andorra. "Every time there were expenses, they were charged to that account," she explained. She was the "trusted confidante" of the then-Head of Government of Andorra, Òscar Ribas, who promoted the initiative, and that is why the account was in his name. The funds came from the Andorran Banking Association, which "paid for the entire project," and the eldest son was in charge of presenting the project and "connecting" with the universities in the United States. The project ultimately failed because the Pyrenean country "did not have sufficient infrastructure," but it was resumed in Barcelona, ​​without the participation of either Núria Villena or Jordi Pujol Ferrusola.