Key 'Operació Catalunya' Witness Dropped from Pujol Trial

A key witness linked to the origins of the so-called "Operació Catalunya" will no longer testify in the trial over the Pujol case.

Vicky Álvarez, the former partner of Jordi Pujol Ferrusola—eldest son of ex-Catalan president Jordi Pujol—had been summoned to appear on Monday. She was the only party to request her testimony: Mercè Gironès, Pujol Ferrusola's first wife. Gironès's legal team sought to use Álvarez's appearance to demonstrate that she had no involvement in any business dealings between her ex-husband and Álvarez, thereby distancing herself from judicial scrutiny.

However, Gironès's lawyers have now withdrawn the request, deeming Álvarez's evidence insufficiently relevant or necessary.

Neither the prosecution nor the state advocacy had called Álvarez to testify. Sources describe her as a potential deep throat for Spanish state intelligence services, who allegedly provided police and prosecutors with details on the Pujols in exchange for payments from state reserve funds. Her involvement is said to have fueled the "Operació Catalunya" probe targeting the family.

Prosecutors avoided summoning her to prevent defenses from portraying the case as politically motivated or part of a broader conspiracy against the Pujols, which her testimony might have bolstered.

The decision leaves a significant gap in the trial, where Álvarez's account could have shed light on the operation's beginnings but risked highlighting perceived biases in the investigation.