Spain’s highest criminal court on Monday began hearing a major corruption case involving Jordi Pujol (main image), the frail Catalan nationalist elder statesman who dominated regional and national politics in the decades after dictator Franco’s death.
Pujol, now 95, and his seven children are being tried on charges of criminal association and money laundering. The case focuses on how the long-serving former Catalan president – who governed the region from 1980 until 2003 – amassed his family wealth.
The scandal broke in 2014 when Pujol admitted that his relatives had held undeclared funds in Andorra for more than three decades. The former leader insisted the money came from an inheritance left by his father, a prosperous businessman, and rejected claims that it originated from illicit commissions tied to public contracts during his premiership.
Following an extensive investigation, a judge ordered Pujol and his children to appear before the Audiencia Nacional.
Questions over whether the ageing politician could withstand a trial lingered due to his deteriorating health and cognitive decline. Although his defence argued he was no longer fit to participate, the court ruled on Monday that he must attend remotely via video link from his home in Barcelona.
The trial is expected to run for six months. Prosecutors are asking for a nine-year prison sentence for Pujol, whose testimony is scheduled for the closing phase of the hearings. His children could face sentences of up to 29 years each if found guilty.
Pujol emerged as a central figure in Spain’s democratic transition after 1975, leading the Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) party, later becoming the now-defunct Convergència i Unió (a coalition of CDC and Democratic Union of Catalonia).
By offering parliamentary support to minority governments in Madrid, Pujol secured greater devolved powers for Catalonia — particularly in healthcare, education and the establishment of a regional police force (the Mossos d’Esquadra) — earning him the moniker ‘Spain’s viceroy’.
Though a lifelong champion of Catalan nationalism, which led to his imprisonment for two years under Franco, Pujol consistently maintained that Catalonia, despite its strong identity, should remain within Spain.
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⚖️Arrenca el macrojudici contra la família Pujol a L’Audiència Nacional.
L¡Audiència Nacional manté Jordi Pujol encausat malgrat els informes mèdics.
🎙️ @33nuria33 | @radio4_rne
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