Judge rejects defence's nullity claims in 'Efial' trial

The trial into the 'Efial' corruption case has moved forward at the Audiencia Nacional after the presiding judge dismissed preliminary motions for nullity filed by the defence teams of 15 accused individuals. The ruling, delivered on Monday, cleared the way for witness testimony to begin on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, despite technical issues affecting remote testimony from the Guardia Civil’s Tarragona command. The case centres on allegations that public contracts worth €8.73 million were irregularly awarded across eight Catalan municipalities, including L’Ametlla de Mar, Torredembarra, Ascó, and Tortosa, to benefit the consultancy firm Efial, formerly known as Efial Consultoría and later Consultoría en Gestión Innovadora SL. Prosecutors allege that the firm, led by Antoni Martos, infiltrated local administrations by assuming municipal management functions without formal contracts, bypassing legal and financial oversight.

Andorran accounts reveal unexplained income

During Wednesday’s hearing, Guardia Civil investigators reaffirmed their findings that former mayor Andreu Martí held Andorran bank accounts containing €2.4 million of unexplained origin, including €1 million from portfolio returns in Panamanian companies. According to prosecutors, these funds do not match Martí’s official income as mayor and are believed to stem from illegal commissions, in some cases amounting to 5% or more of public contract values. A rogatory commission enabled Spanish authorities to trace the Andorran accounts and identify two intermediaries who operated them, transferring funds from both domestic and international sources. When asked whether these inflows matched Martí’s declared earnings in Spain, an investigating officer replied: "Yes, yes, they do not correspond." Investigators also confirmed payments made to Martí or his partner’s company by L’Ametlla de Mar’s town council and its municipal entity Cala Gestió. These payments are cited in the prosecution’s indictment as part of a broader scheme of influence and illicit enrichment.

Defence challenges and procedural delays

The defence teams, representing 15 of the 19 accused, had argued that evidence obtained through phone interceptions, searches, email access, device cloning, and document requests should be invalidated due to alleged breaches of defence rights. The judge rejected these claims, stating that surveillance measures were justified, proportionate, and supported by prior investigative evidence, dismissing the idea that the probe was "prospective" in nature. One defence lawyer questioned whether data connections from Mauritius and Seychelles, which Martí attempted to claim as official expenses through the Baix Ebre County Council, were related to his duties following a forest fire in Horta de Sant Joan. The Guardia Civil officer clarified that the records showed data usage, not phone calls, and that the council had rejected the expense claim. Another line of questioning focused on a property owned by Martí in L’Ametlla de Mar, which was rented to Efial despite being reportedly uninhabited. The prosecution sees this as part of the financial network supporting the alleged scheme.

The L’Ametlla de Mar town council is seeking civil liability damages exceeding €4 million, more than half of the total €8.7 million in alleged fraud attributed to the case. Tortosa’s council is the only other municipality exercising private prosecution. Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences ranging from six months to 15 years. The harshest penalty is requested for Martí, who faces charges of bribery, administrative misconduct, embezzlement, money laundering, and continued fraud in public tenders. According to the indictment, Efial operated in municipalities without formal contracts, creating fictitious public-private entities to manage public funds as if they were private, thereby evading scrutiny by municipal secretaries and auditors. Employees of Efial are said to have used municipal office space, including dedicated work areas within town halls like Tortosa’s, where Martos had close ties to Meritxell Roigé, head of the urban management company GUMTSA. The case originated from a 2013 investigation in El Vendrell, sparked by a corruption complaint concerning Torredembarra’s public contracts. It later expanded into what is now considered the Catalan branch of the 'Efial' case, linked to the wider '3%' investigation into CDC’s alleged illegal financing.

The prosecution alleges that the consultancy influenced public contract awards and eliminated free competition in at least eight municipalities.

The trial continues with further witness testimony expected in the coming days.

Reported by lacalartv.cat, elmon.cat, elperiodico.com, diaridetarragona.com, elconfidencial.com, elespanol.com, ona-latorre.cat, reusdigital.cat.