• Hearing: The judge on the Catalan Ombudsman: "Not only does he accept to be invited, but he takes the initiative to obtain a greater benefit"

The businessman Jordi Soler has recognized this Monday at the National Court that he paid for the trip to the Catalan Ombudsman ( defender of the Catalan People ), Rafael Ribó , his partner and his daughter on the private plane that he signed to attend the Champions League final 2015 in Berlin between Barça and Juventus . The businessman has explained that he has never done business with the trustee. In addition to Soler, charged as Ribó for a possible bribery offense, his secretary and former CiU deputy Ramón Camp have testified at the National Court.

According to sources present in the statement, Camp has told Judge José de la Mata and the Anticorruption Prosecutor that in 2009 he had already made a private plane trip paid by the businessman and which Ribó also enjoyed. At that time he was already a trustee of Greuges. It was the return trip of the Champions League final that year between Barça and Manchester United , which was held in Rome .

The crime of improper bribery punishes the public office that accepts some type of gift made in response to their office. That is the assumption that the Prosecutor's Office receives in the case of Ribó. For this reason Anticorruption has asked the judge to refer the case to the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia , before which the receiver is registered. The judge of the 3% case - in which the employer is investigated for paying bites to CiU - has chosen to advance further in the investigation before making a decision.

The 2009 trip could also be interpreted as another previous bribery. However, legal sources indicate that the crime would be prescribed and that, in addition, the circumstances differ from those of 2015. In the case of 2009, they point out, it is a trip only back to which Ribó is incorporated when everything was already in March.

As Camp explained, after that 2009 meeting he invited Soler and Ribó with their partners to a dinner at their second residence. The witness has explained, according to Efe, that in 2015 the businessman Soler had decided to re-charter a plane, in charge of his companies, for the Champions League final, although on this occasion Camp asked him if he could go Ribó with his partner.

"I have tickets, but I don't have transportation"

According to the sources, Camp explained that Ribó told him that he had tickets to the game but that his companion finally could not go. "I have tickets but I don't have transportation," were the words that, as he has transmitted to the judge, the trustee told him.

Soler, on the other hand, who has stressed that he never hired the syndic, has indicated that he did not know Ribó, although he accepted that he go with his family on the plane at the request of the deputy of CiU, which he expressly requested at the last minute that she was also the daughter of the defender of the Catalan people, who has held that position since 2004.

Finally, according to Camp, who said he simply asked Soler, 14 people traveled on that plane. Eight were on his side and among the other six were Ribó, his partner and his daughter; Camp along with his then partner, Francesca Guardiola - sister of Pep Guardiola - as well as a friend of the other brother of the coach, Pere Guardiola, who worked in companies of the Soler group, added the sources. These last six assistants Soler has been referred to as the "Guardiola party," the sources said.

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