Este lunes comienza la segunda semana del juicio por el ‘caso mascarillas’ con declaración relevante.

On Monday 18, the second week of the trial for the «mask case» begins, where the businessmen Alberto Luceño and Luis Medina face 15 and 9 years in prison respectively, accused of defrauding the City Council of Madrid, with a significant statement from 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 the next three sessions of the trial on days 18, 19, and 21, which will conclude the following week, after adjusting the initial script: day 20 was removed at the request of one of the lawyers who had another engagement, and the scheduled witnesses were moved to day 21 (except for one who will testify on the 19th).

Additionally, the court decided that the Malaysian businessman San Chin Choon, who sold the medical material to Alberto Luceño, will not testify as planned for the 18th, as it is legally uncertain whether he can do so by video conference and it was not possible to do so through a rogatory commission. The president of the Court also considered this testimony «non-essential».

Therefore, 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, whom he called to inquire about how businessman Luis Medina could contact the City Council to offer medical supplies.

Matilde García provided Martínez-Almeida with a «generic» email, and Medina thus submitted his offer to the City Council, which was processed through Elena Collado, the municipal head of Human Resources and Budgets, without the mayor being informed of these contacts or showing any favoritism to Medina and Luceño, as both witnesses stated before the investigating judge and as García confirmed last Tuesday in court.

However, the accusations claim that the calls and messages between Medina, the mayor’s cousin, and his right-hand woman could have led to preferential treatment for the now accused, prompting them to request their indictment, which was denied by both the investigating judge and the Provincial Court.

Carlos Martínez-Almedia stated during the investigation (in May 2022) that he «never» discussed the contact he had with the investigated businessman with his cousin, but he did call the general coordinator of the council, Matilde García, with whom he has been friends for many years.

He detailed that the former president of the American University in Madrid CIS, María Díaz de la Cebosa, called him and informed him that Luis Medina, a businessman and former student of her institution, had contacted her because he could provide medical supplies to the Council and wanted to know if she could give him her contact information. Upon receiving that call, Carlos Martínez-Almeida believed it was a moment «to help» and thus granted permission for Luis Medina to call him.

They spoke, and then he contacted the general coordinator of the City Council of Madrid, who provided him with a «generic» email (@cgalcaldía), without him taking any further action.

On the 18th, two bank officials where the alleged commissions were deposited by the defendants will also testify, along with a director from Puerta de Hierro Hospital (to which the defendants donated masks).

On the 19th, in the fifth session of the trial, the former Director General of Emergencies for the City Council, Enrique López Ventura, a forensic expert, and a municipal police officer will testify.

Finally, on the 21st, the former Head of Occupational Risk Prevention at the Council, Mario Tabasco, and the former manager of Madrid Health, Antonio Prieto, as well as two tax agency experts, will testify.

Alberto Luceño and Luis Medina will testify the following week, when it is expected that the trial will be ready for sentencing.