Redaccion
On Monday 18, the second week of the trial for the «mask case» begins, where entrepreneurs Alberto Luceño and Luis Medina face 15 and 9 years in prison respectively, accused of defrauding the City Council of Madrid. A key testimony will be given by Carlos Martínez-Almeida, cousin of the mayor of the capital, who will testify about how he provided a contact from the City Council to the aristocrat.
The Provincial Court of Madrid will hold sessions on days 18, 19, and 21 for the trial, which will conclude the following week after rearranging the schedule. The session scheduled for the 20th was canceled at the request of one of the lawyers, and the witnesses were moved to the 21st (except for one who will testify on the 19th).
The court decided not to have Malaysian entrepreneur San Chin Choon testify on the 18th, as it was legally uncertain for him to do so via video conference or by rogatory commission. The court president also deemed this testimony «non-essential».
This week, the key witness will be Carlos Martínez-Almeida on Tuesday, cousin of the mayor of Madrid, José Luís Martínez-Almeida, and friend of the former general coordinator of the City Council in March 2020, Matilde García. He called her to inquire about how businessman Luis Medina could contact the City Council to offer sanitary material.
Elena Collado, responsible for purchases at the City Council in 2020, testifies in the ‘Mask Case’
Matilde García provided Martinez-Almeida with a «generic» email, through which Medina submitted his offer to the City Council. This offer was processed by Elena Collado, municipal officer for Human Resources and Budgets, without the mayor being informed or providing any preferential treatment to Medina and Luceño, as both witnesses testified before the investigating judge and as García confirmed last Tuesday in court.
However, the prosecution believes that the calls and messages exchanged between Medina, the mayor’s cousin, and his right-hand woman could have led to preferential treatment for the accused. They requested their indictment, but both the investigating judge and the Provincial Court denied this possibility.
Carlos Martínez-Almedia stated during the investigation (in May 2022) that he «never» discussed with his cousin the contact he had with the investigated businessman. Instead, he contacted the general coordinator of the City Council, Matilde García, with whom he has been friends for many years.
He detailed how María Díaz de la Cebosa, former president of the American University in Madrid CIS, called him and informed him that Luis Medina, a businessman and former student of the university, had contacted her to provide sanitary material to the City Council. After receiving this call, Carlos Martínez-Almeida believed it was a moment «to help» and therefore allowed Luis Medina to contact him.
They spoke, and he then contacted the general coordinator of the City Council of Madrid, who provided him with a «generic» email (@cgalcaldía), without him taking further action.
On the 18th, two bank officials where the accused allegedly deposited their commissions will testify, along with a director from Puerta de Hierro Hospital (to which the accused donated masks).
On the 19th, during the fifth session of the trial, the former Director General of Emergencies at the City Council, Enrique López Ventura, a forensic expert, and a municipal police officer will testify.
On the 21st, the former Head of Occupational Risk Prevention at the City Council, Mario Tabasco, and the former manager of Madrid Salud, Antonio Prieto, along with two forensic experts from the tax agency, will testify.
Alberto Luceño and Luis Medina will testify the following week, when the trial is expected to be concluded for sentencing.
