The 'Lezo case' goes to trial ten years later for the alleged overprice of up to 29 million in the purchase of Inassa during the Gallardón era

The first trial of the 'Lezo case' began this Monday in the Audiencia Nacional, a decade after the proceedings were opened and almost 25 years after the operation under suspicion. The court is examining the purchase of 75% of the Colombian company Inassa by Canal de Isabel II, approved in 2001 during the Madrid government of Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón.

The delay already conditions the merits of the process. Before hearing witnesses or examining the economic operations, the lawyers of 19 defendants have demanded that the trial be annulled because they consider the crime of embezzlement to be time-barred. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office rejects that calculation and maintains that criminal liability can still be demanded.

Since the Governing Council authorized the purchase, the Community of Madrid has had five other presidents: Esperanza Aguirre, Ignacio González, Cristina Cifuentes, Ángel Garrido, and Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The first trial for that acquisition has arrived when all the political leaders of that period have been out of office for decades.

The indictment came to include 22 people. Among those facing the hearing are Gallardón's former councilors Pedro Calvo Poch and Juan Bravo Rivera, former members of the Canal's Board of Directors, as well as the former manager of the public company and former president of the Madrid Court of Accounts Arturo Canalda, several technicians, managers, and intermediaries related to the operation. All retain the presumption of innocence.

An indirect purchase and up to 29 million in overprice

Canal de Isabel II began its expansion in Latin America in 2001 through the acquisition of Inassa. The operation was structured through Canal Extensia, participated by the Madrid public company and the Valencian Tecvasa, and the Panamanian company Aguas de América, which owned the shares of the Colombian company.

Although authorization was granted to directly purchase 75% of Inassa, the Canal ended up acquiring the Panamanian company that controlled that stake and other assets that had not been initially valued either. Investigating judge Manuel García-Castellón described in 2020 an operation "plagued with illicit acts" and executed differently from what was approved.

The purchase was closed for 73 million dollars. Anti-corruption estimates that an undue overprice of between 19,066,500 and 29,013,109 euros was paid at the expense of public coffers and without a justification that would benefit Canal. The Prosecutor's Office maintains that at least 9.1 million ended up in the hands of five defendants linked to Aguas de Barcelona and co-owners of the Panamanian company. The final destination of the rest remains unclear.

The Public Prosecutor's Office requests sentences of between six and seven years in prison for aggravated embezzlement, in addition to disqualifications and the joint return to Canal of the damage caused. The defenses deny the accusations and demand that the procedure end before evaluating the evidence.

Their argument is based on the 15-year statute of limitations. The lawyers place the alleged commission of the crime on November 14, 2001, when the Canal's Board of Directors authorized the operation. The prosecutor takes February 20, 2002, as a reference, the date set to fulfill the obligations derived from the sale. A few months' difference can decide whether a trial expected for a decade will take place.

The stages of Gallardón, Aguirre and Ignacio González

The piece that has just reached the bench dates back to the Government of Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, which approved the purchase of Inassa on November 29, 2001. The subsequent ramifications of the 'Lezo case' reach the stage of Esperanza Aguirre, when Ignacio González was regional vice president and presided over Canal de Isabel II between 2003 and 2012.

González later succeeded Aguirre at the head of the Community of Madrid and governed until 2015. The operation publicly exploded in April 2017 with his arrest, when he spent about six months in preventive prison. Aguirre's former number two has not yet been tried, despite becoming the main political face of the macro-case nine years ago.

The judge archived this first piece against González in 2019, so the former Madrid president remains off the bench that now examines the purchase of Inassa. His first hearing will begin on October 13 and will address the awarding and management of the Canal's golf course. Anti-corruption requests eight years in prison and 19 years of disqualification for him.

The macro-case was divided into eight parts. González will face two other trials in 2027 for the acquisition of the Brazilian company Emissao and for the Móstoles-Navalcarnero train contract, scheduled for January 12 and June 28. The Inassa trial will continue in the meantime in morning and afternoon sessions until October 8.