Spain's National Court Excuses 95-Year-Old Ex-Catalan Leader Jordi Pujol from Corruption Trial

Spain's National Court has excused 95-year-old former Catalan president Jordi Pujol from testifying in the trial over his family's alleged hidden fortune in Andorra, ruling him unfit due to an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder.

Pujol arrived at the Madrid courthouse early this morning ahead of his scheduled appearance, despite prosecutors seeking a nine-year prison term for him over funds they claim stemmed from corruption. A forensic medical exam and personal interview, however, determined he suffers from a major, progressive neurocognitive disorder of mixed type that severely impairs his mental and physical capacity to participate. Earlier forensic reports had flagged these limitations, and Pujol had been following proceedings remotely from his Barcelona home until the court formally removed him.

The decision fully excludes Pujol from the case, extinguishing any criminal liability. Prosecutors had accused him and his family of amassing wealth through irregular commissions tied to public contracts, concealed in Andorra for decades—a scandal that erupted after his 2014 confession of undeclared foreign assets and has carried major political weight in Catalonia.

The trial now advances to witness interrogations without him. Pujol's eldest son, Jordi Pujol Ferrusola, faces up to 29 years in prison and is first to testify; he is accused of handling the alleged illegal commissions and family assets. His seven siblings and other defendants remain in the dock as the long-running macro-case continues.