Javier Martínez de la Hidalga assures that he had “total confidence” in Gómez Iglesias and that he returned the money he had given him
MADRID, 26 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The businessman Javier Martínez de la Hidalga has denied this Wednesday before the Provincial Court of Madrid that Francisco Nicolás Gómez, known as ‘Little Nicolás’, posed as a member of the Government to defraud him, as the Prosecutor’s Office maintains in the letter of accusation in which he claims six years in prison for the young man.
“Obviously, I have not been deceived,” said the businessman in his statement as a witness during the second session of the trial. The man has appeared via videoconference after yesterday, Tuesday, the court had to suspend the interrogations of three witnesses – including him and his wife – because they did not attend the Madrid Provincial Court.
This Wednesday, at the beginning of the session, the court has indicated that they had been informed that the businessman does not reside in Madrid and that, at present, he has “displacement problems”, for which they allowed him to testify electronically.
Martínez de la Hidalga has assured that “he had total confidence that Nicolás was a reliable character.” He has stated that he considered him a “precocious genius” who “was on the crest of the wave” – ??”or at least played the role very well” – and “a highly qualified person”.
Asked by the State Attorney whether Gómez Iglesias presented himself as a representative of the Executive, the businessman said that “theoretically he was a participant in the Government, in the CNI, a friend of theirs.”
Then, to questions from the popular accusation exercised by Podemos as to whether Francisco Nicolás “collaborated with the Government”, the man assured that “it was not that he collaborated officially”. “He was a friend”, he pointed out after stressing that the young man always carried an album with photos in which he appeared with “important people”.
The Prosecutor’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office ask for ‘Little Nicolás’ a sentence of six years in prison for alleged crimes of fraud, false documents and usurpation of public functions. The prosecutor also requests special disqualification for passive suffrage and a fine of 18,000 euros. The popular accusation of Podemos, for its part, demanded 12 years in prison.
The businessman, who initially did not remember having given a statement in the Plaza de Castilla Courts, has reported that he planned to sell the ‘La Alamedilla’ estate in Toledo, and that Gómez Iglesias would take a 5% commission from the operation. The sale was estimated at around 18 million euros; that is to say about 900,000 euros. As he has underlined, the payment of the commission was “something normal”.
Within the framework of his statement, he explained that – as stated in the Prosecutor’s brief – both went to the bank and left there with 25,000 euros in cash that ended up in the hands of ‘Little Nicolás’.
The Public Ministry believes that the young man tried to get hold of the 300,000 euros that were in the account that the businessman had with his wife, but that –since the transfer was not possible– he asked for 25,000 euros in cash, which is the amount that allowed to withdraw. When asked if he planned to get more money, the man said that he did not care.
“I went to advance him an amount for the sale of the farm,” he said, while indicating that it was a provision of funds for the expenses that Gómez Iglesias had in his management. As he has specified, that day he had no intention of giving him the 300,000 euros as a commission because that would be “a very small commission”.
To the thread, he explained that later from the bank they called his wife warning him that they suspected the operation and that it was she who asked him to communicate with ‘Little Nicolás’ to ask him to return the money.
The worker at the bank branch suspected Gómez Iglesias when he heard him make a phone call in which he asked about Soraya. “But I don’t know if she was (the then Executive Vice President) Soraya Sáez de Santamaría,” he said at yesterday’s trial session. This Wednesday, Martínez de la Hidalga has assured that he did not get to hear that alleged conversation between Francisco Nicolás and the number two of the Government.
The businessman has reported that, after his request, the young man gave him part of the amount that same day – about 10,000 euros -. “He told me the rest was in a secret service box,” he added. The businessman has not been able to specify whether the envelope in which he gave him that money had a government stamp or not. “I don’t remember,” he said.
That same day, Martínez de la Hidalga was intercepted by the Police, who warned him that he could be the victim of a scam. The man handed the agents a document that Gómez Iglesias had given him, although he has said that he never read it and that he does not know what it contained or if it had official letterhead.
“(Francisco Nicolás) told me that it was a sign of support from the government,” he added. As he has said, he came to believe that it could be some recognition or “medal” that the Executive would give him for his professional career and for being an “exemplary citizen.” Asked if it was possible that the Executive was going to help him with a supposed file that he had in the Treasury, he said no.
Martínez de la Hidalga has insisted that he has not felt cheated and has even said that a lawyer “friend” called him “on behalf of the mother (of Francisco Nicolás) saying that he was responsible for the missing money.” This, however, was not necessary because, according to him, the young man gave him the rest of the 25,000 euros.
This Wednesday, the one who was Martínez Hidalga’s lawyer in 2014, who has denied the scam, has also declared. The lawyer, who has appeared as a witness, has reported that he came to hold meetings with ‘Little Nicolás’ and that he is not aware that the accused mentioned that there was a possible buyer from Equatorial Guinea, although he has indicated that he was not present at “all the managements”.
Asked if he did not suspect the “lack of experience” of Francisco Nicolás, the man has stressed that to sell a property like the Toledo farm “what you need least is experience” because what is necessary is “economic and social relations”.
Likewise, two workers from the copy shop where police officers saw Gómez Iglesias print documentation on government letterhead have appeared. They have confirmed that the young man was in the establishment, but they have not provided details about his efforts.
This Wednesday, the wife of Martínez de la Hidalga was also scheduled to testify, but for health reasons she has not been able to appear via videoconference. The court has set her testimony and that of the experts for next November 7.
According to the calendar, that same day ‘Little Nicolás’, who asked to appear at the end of the trial, must testify. At the end of today’s session, the young man said that he is “very happy” and “more optimistic”. “Many of the accusations have been dismantled,” he said.
