The daughter of one of the now-deceased defendants in the 'Catastro case' stated this Wednesday that, on the advice of her lawyer, she went to the Cadastre office in Las Palmas to repair the damage caused and renounce the improperly acquired properties in Lanzarote, whose purchase contracts she signed at her father's instruction.
In the second session of the trial being held at the Audiencia de Las Palmas against the three defendants still in the case (another two have since died), this witness, daughter of Gustavo A.G.G.R., indicated that she does not remember the documents in which she appears as the buyer in this alleged scheme dedicated to falsifying Cadastre files and documents to appropriate 141 rural properties in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote between 2011 and 2016.
She stated that she was unaware that there were other owners of these properties and pointed out that her father had many properties in Lanzarote and, at that time, was processing a family inheritance, so she was not surprised when he asked for her signature, although she emphasized that she was unaware that "the ownership of rural properties was being illegitimately altered."
The daughter of this defendant stated that she did not get involved in her father's affairs and that she also did not mention anything to her other sister, whose signature also appears on purchase contracts in the case.
When questioned by the defense attorneys, she assured that she never went to the management company dedicated to cadastral management, owned by one of the defendants, José María C.F., which is located on Avenida Primero de Mayo in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, near the Cadastre, nor does she know the also accused Jesús O.M.
As she explained, she became aware of the case when she was arrested in Lanzarote and, after speaking with her lawyer, he advised them that the first thing they should do was repair the damage, and that is why she and her sister renounced all the purchases they had made.
In this session, a friend of Gustavo A.G.G.R. also testified, who denied having participated in these purchase transactions and whose signature appears on more than 20 files and more than 20 contracts, according to the prosecution.
When shown some of the documents in the case with her signature, she admitted that it was hers, but claimed that she did not remember signing them.
The widow of Gustavo A.G.G.R. also appeared in this session and stated that she was aware of the private sales by her husband to his daughters, but emphasized that she does not remember anything about the matter.
She stated that a cousin of her husband who stayed at her house for a while also signed documents, although she stressed that she "never thought it was anything illegal" and mentioned that her husband was handling a family inheritance at the time.
A civil guard from the Heritage unit, who explained to the court that he was tasked with locating in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura the lands that the defendants had allegedly appropriated and their legitimate owners, stated that during the investigation it was detected that the activity carried out by the accused Jesús O.M. in the Cadastre management "did not comply with the law."
This witness, as another colleague from Heritage had already stated in the first session of the trial, detailed how the defendants proceeded to appropriate properties whose land ownership was unknown and explained that his work consisted of trying to find the true owners, and that he also participated in the searches carried out at the Cadastre management and the management company in Las Palmas, as well as those carried out in Fuerteventura.
Another witness, the owner of a property in Fuerteventura, testified to the court that the now-deceased defendant Roque M.M. wanted to take possession of his land, but could not because he managed to prove his ownership.
According to him, he knew 'Roquito' by sight and knew that he was involved in buying land in La Oliva and that he operated with a carpenter to whom he later sold it.
An heir to a property in Puerto del Rosario explained that the Civil Guard located him because they had detected irregularities with the property's registrations, and that there had been an attempt to change the ownership, which was rectified after filing appeals with the Cadastre.
The trial will continue this Thursday with the testimony of new witnesses
The defendant for whom the highest sentence was sought, Santiago Ramón M.M., has acknowledged his authorship in the five crimes attributed to him by the Prosecutor's Office after agreeing to sentences of less than two years for falsification of public documents in conjunction with the crime of prevarication, fraud, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal group, for which 17 years in prison were sought.
The other two defendants, Jesús O.M. and José María C.F., face sentences of 13 and 9 years in prison, respectively, for the same crimes as Santiago Ramón M.M., except for fraud, although their lawyers are seeking their acquittal.
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