This Thursday is the last day of the trial involving Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and her ex-husband, Josep Santacana, for an alleged crime of confiscation of assets against the Bank of Luxembourg (BDL). The former tennis player has rejected the opportunity to go to court in person and give the last word before the judge. And this decision is due to the fact that she no longer has the need to continue defending her innocence: she reached an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office to not go to prison.
Together with the lawyer representing the Bank, the prosecutor decided to reduce Sánchez Vicario's proposed sentence of four years in prison to two. On the other hand, Santacana faces a tough decision. The businessman was classified as the author or necessary collaborator in the aforementioned crime by the BDL. Even so, the accusation requested that both pay a joint and several amount of 6.6 million euros plus late payment interest.
The former couple was accused of allegedly hiding part of their assets to avoid paying 7.5 million euros of debt they had with the Bank of Luxembourg. In the subsequent trials, held in the Criminal Court No. 25 of Barcelona between September 12 and 15, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario assured that her ex-husband was in charge of managing everything.
Josep Santacana has the use of the word to convince the judge. But, hours before, he did not hesitate to offer a statement upon leaving the last preparatory meeting with his lawyer. The investigator has assured that he "hopes" that justice is equal for everyone.
At the entrance to the court, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario's lawyer wanted to make something clear for Europa Press: "Of course, we are going to follow the line stated." Likewise, he wanted to reveal how the former tennis player is doing. "Well, we're looking forward to seeing how it all ends," he said. "But as we already said on the last day, we are achieving our objectives. We have to wait, today are the final reports and we are going to preserve the trial until the end," he added.
Shortly after, the last session began. The prosecutor wanted to make it clear that Arantxa Sánchez Vicario has recognized the facts and has expressed that it was her ex-husband who did not want to pay. According to the Prosecutor's Office, it is confirmed that the businessman is the administrator. Something to which the accused has shaken his head. This version contradicts the one issued initially, which claimed that she was his father.
Given this, the prosecutor has seen two mitigating circumstances: the confession and the reparation of the damage that the former tennis player is willing to carry out. Likewise, she is clear about it with Josep Santacana. She has stated that Sánchez Vicario's ex-husband is the mastermind of the operation and that he gives instructions to each of the accused. For his part, the lawyer for the Bank of Luxembourg has expressed that he adheres to everything concluded by the Prosecutor's Office.
