Oncologist Josep Tabernero claims that Pere Mir left him a house in Baqueira as a "gratitude"

BarcelonaThe head of oncology atVall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, ​​Josep Tabernero, On Thursday, he distanced himself from the creation of the companies that the chemical entrepreneur and patron Pere Mir established in Panama before his death in 2017. The specialist testified as a suspect in the court investigating the case for disloyal administration and misappropriation, asserting that he kept the house "according to Mir's last wishes." He also emphasized that the patron verbally expressed this decision and that the money he received corresponded to the taxes he had to pay to make the donation effective. According to judicial sources, Tabernero appeared before the judge of Barcelona's Court of Instruction Number 12 as a suspect, along with Pere Mir's trusted associate, Jordi Segarra, and the third executor, Francisco Capellas, for allegedly misappropriating fund of heir foundations, such as CellexTabernero, who was Pere Mir's personal physician, explained to the judge that Mir told him he would bequeath a house in Baqueira to him upon his death. He claimed that, as the patron of one of the properties, he was "scientific" without being involved in any economic or business decisions. As a patron, he added, he also made no decisions. The judge attributes to Tabernero a "direct involvement" in the donation of a property in Baqueira, originating from a company within Pere Mir's network, of which the doctor was a beneficiary, as well as receiving 312,000 euros from the patron's estate. In contrast, the oncologist's defense presented a notarized statement in which the property's maintenance manager indicated that Mir had confided in him that Tabernero and his wife would visit the property to see it, since they would inherit it upon his death, as a gesture of gratitude. Furthermore, the doctor explained that the €312,000 he received after Mir's death were used to pay the taxes related to the donation of the property to Baqueira.

Only "scientific advice"

Tabernero, who answered questions from all parties for about two hours, explained that he accepted the offer to become a trustee of the Mir Puig Foundation—between 2015 and 2022—while the patron was still alive, but only to provide scientific advice and as a way of thanking the philanthropist for his continued support. The oncologist emphasized that he never became a trustee of the Cellex Foundation to avoid a conflict of interest, since this organization, one of the main donors to cancer research in Catalonia, provided significant financial support to Vall d'Hebron Hospital. Nevertheless, Tabernero admitted that a few years ago he participated in a meeting in London where Jordi Segarra, the principal executor of Pere Mir's will, granted him power of attorney so that, in the event of Mir's death, there would be "a circle of trust" to manage the companies. However, he clarified that he never made any financial or business decisions. The third executor under investigation, lawyer Francisco Capellas, bases his defense on the claim that his role was solely to provide legal support to Segarra and that the Panamanian foundations in which Pere Mir held a large part of his estate were created during the patron's lifetime, before Capellas became involved with him.