The Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has halted the trial against the proprietor of the La Chasnera petrol station in Granadilla, renowned for the prizes it awards in the Christmas lottery, along with another individual accused of money laundering and obstruction of justice, as the other defendant is currently wanted and in custody.
Both the Prosecutor’s Office, prosecution, and defence concurred that it would be prudent to postpone the session, thus the Court has rescheduled it for October 6 and 7 of this year.
The businessman’s solicitor, Gerardo Pérez, stated that they supported this decision, given that the plaintiffs themselves are keen to hear the testimony of the other defendant.
The solicitor referenced the statement made by this individual in court, where he asserted that no prior arrangement existed with the petrol station owner. Hence, “we are also interested in his testimony. Therefore, it is most appropriate to wait for the new notification to see if they can locate him.”
Reflecting on the necessity to delay the hearing by an additional ten months, he remarked that “it is not pleasant” as his client has been under investigation for over five years, which is why they will request that undue delays be taken into consideration as a mitigating factor.
The solicitor believes that this process “has greatly affected” his client. This has included being subjected to various embargoes to secure payment of potential damages, “a measure devoid of justification and indicative of a clearly unjust situation.”
The solicitor is confident that the outcome will be an acquittal, which would mean that the harm caused to his client by this delay will be more significant. “However, once his innocence is formally established in a ruling, and it is ultimately determined that he is not guilty of any crime, we find that acceptable.”
Previously, there had been another trial regarding this same matter but concerning the crime of fraud, where the businessman now sought and captured was convicted, receiving a sentence of four and a half years in prison and the payment of 299,000 euros, which is identical to the claim made now.
That case was connected to the current one as it involved the same transactions, “but my clients were not even called as witnesses,” stated the solicitor.
The Prosecutor’s Office is seeking eight years in prison for each of them, along with fines of 100,000 euros, restitution of the funds they purportedly misappropriated, and compensation totalling 1.7 million euros in the event of a conviction.
