Ignacio González has denied before the Audiencia Nacional knowing about the connection of his brother and brother-in-law with the company that received part of the contract to build a golf course in facilities of the Canal de Isabel II. The former president of the Community of Madrid has tried to distance himself from an award that ended up financially benefiting his family circle and for which the Prosecutor's Office requests six years in prison, attributing two crimes of bribery to him.
The former PP leader, who presided over the Canal between 2003 and 2012, assured during his statement in the Lezo case trial that he did not know about the relationship of his relatives with the company TCT until the award procedure was completed. "I don't know anyone," he stated before the court, while insisting that he never asked for favors or intervened to benefit any company. His defense thus involves denying any participation in an operation in which, according to the investigation, hundreds of thousands of euros were channeled to his family circle.
A golf course awarded without a new tender
The origin of the case lies in a project promoted in 2003 to condition the roof of one of the Canal de Isabel II reservoirs, a public company that manages water in the Community of Madrid. The initial contract was awarded to ACS, later Dragados, and included the construction of gardens, ponds, a soccer field, and a helipad. However, a year later the project was modified to also incorporate a golf course with artificial turf.
The judicial investigation focused on the fact that this change was not a minor modification. Judge Manuel García Castellón concluded during the investigation that the alterations were so "substantial" that they should have led to a new public tender, instead of being processed as an extension of the original contract. This formula allowed the additional works to be awarded directly to Dragados, without opening a new tender to other companies.
According to the investigation, González and the then managing director of the Canal, Ildefonso de Miguel, agreed with Dragados that the construction company would directly receive the modification in exchange for subcontracting TCT, a company linked to the brother and brother-in-law of the then vice president of Madrid. In this way, a company related to González's relatives ended up participating in a public contract that had been awarded to the construction company.
Before the court, the former president has tried to distance himself from the administrative decisions that made the operation possible. He has argued that his role in the Canal was "quite sporadic," that he attended "one morning a week" and that he limited himself to elevating to the board the proposals he received from the technical services. "I have never intervened in any of the contracts or proposals that go to the board," he maintained. He also assured that, had he known of the presence of his relatives in the project, he would have consulted the technicians and would have abstained if appropriate.
More than three million for TCT and cash payments to his relatives
One of the central aspects of the investigation is the money trail. According to the documentation incorporated into the case, TCT received more than three million euros for the work subcontracted by Dragados, despite the fact that investigators questioned whether it had its own capacity to execute the project. The company then resorted to Onlygolf and Fieldturf to carry out the work and imposed an 8% commission on them.
From that operation came 266,972 euros destined for González's brother, his brother-in-law, and his partner José Antonio Clemente. The payments were made in cash and distributed in 49 deliveries, according to judicial documentation. The investigation also places TCT in a second award, along with other companies, for the management, operation, and landscaping of the project. The judge considered this procedure to be "unnecessary and irregular" and estimated the profit obtained by the company at 504,780 euros.
Aguirre pointed to the origin of the project and De Miguel disclaims responsibility
In the same session, Ildefonso de Miguel, who was managing director of the Canal and who was also in provisional prison for this case, testified. The former head of the public company reiterated that the decision to incorporate a golf course into the project came from Esperanza Aguirre, then president of the Community of Madrid, who considered it "a good idea." Aguirre even compared the initiative to the construction of "a heliport for Bono."
De Miguel, for his part, denied knowing that González's relatives were behind TCT and attributed to the Procurement department the responsibility of processing the extension as a modification of the initial contract. "Procurement studies the formula to do it and decides that it should be modified. When everything signed by several people from different departments reaches me, I simply take it as good," he declared. He also acknowledged that a modification entails "a direct award to the company that is executing the work" and denied having discussed this matter with Dragados.
The statements of both former officials once again place the focus on the decisions that allowed the contract to be modified, avoid a new tender, and channel public funds to a company linked to relatives of the former Madrid president. While González insists that he was unaware of these links and that he never intervened in the awards, the Prosecutor's Office maintains its request for six years in prison for his alleged participation in the events.