Overview
- Former Madrid vice‑president Ignacio González testified on Wednesday that he never asked officials or companies to benefit his brother or brother‑in‑law and repeated his long‑standing denial of wrongdoing.
- On Thursday prosecutors told the court they would lower the prison request for González from six years to five years, citing lengthy delays in bringing the case to trial.
- The case centers on alleged manipulations of Canal de Isabel II contracts for a golf project and a maintenance UTE that prosecutors say favoured Dragados so the firm would subcontract work to Tecnoconcret, a company prosecutors link to González’s relatives.
- Investigators point to subcontracting records, documents seized in searches and two invoices totaling €27,000 tied to garden works as part of the evidence; defendants say technical staff handled bids and that any family links were unknown or denied.
- The trial, which opened on October 13 and follows González’s 2017 arrest in Operation Lezo, has reached its final phase with closing arguments next and a tribunal expected to take the case under advisement for sentencing, a moment that could shape public views of political accountability in Madrid.