The owner of the La Chasnera gas station is on trial in Tenerife for money laundering.
In Tenerife, the trial of a gas station owner accused of money laundering and obstruction of justice will resume, with a businessman already convicted of fraud as the key witness.
Next Monday, a court in Tenerife will again consider the case of local businessman José Miguel González. He owns eight gas stations, including the famous La Chasnera, where millions were once won in the Christmas lottery.
The prosecutor's office believes that González laundered money and obstructed the execution of a court decision. Therefore, they are demanding 8 years in prison and compensation of more than 1.7 million euros for him.
The hearing of this case was suspended back in January last year because another suspect, a businessman from Seville, Bienvenido Valenzuela, did not appear. An arrest warrant was even issued for him.
The testimony of this Seville businessman is very important. They will help to find out whether González and Valenzuela agreed on the purchase of a gas station, farms and a water extraction company. Previously, these were owned by three brothers who were in a difficult financial situation due to debts.
Valenzuela was already tried in 2019 for the same machinations. He then received 4.5 years in prison for fraud and had to pay almost 300,000 euros in compensation. He was accused of taking advantage of the difficult situation of the brothers and buying their companies, but not paying the debts of these companies, as he promised.
The agreement with Valenzuela included two farms with buildings and a gas station. The brothers also owned a house where they lived with their families. After the sale, they were to get rid of debts, which the buyer had to pay. In particular, it concerned 800,000 euros, which Valenzuela had to pay within 18 months.
The agreement itself was estimated at 235,000 euros with a mortgage, which had to be repaid in three months. All documents were certified by a notary, but the buyer never fulfilled his obligations.
Valenzuela acquired the gas station and farms on July 4, 2014, and two weeks later, on July 18, resold them to José Miguel González. On July 31, he bought a water extraction company from the same brothers and on October 2, he also sold it to the owner of La Chasnera. The water extraction company was sold for 1.8 million euros. The agreement was also drawn up by a notary.
But Valenzuela did not pay the brothers all the money he promised and resold their property to González.
The prosecutor's office believes that González knew about the financial problems of the brothers and used Valenzuela to acquire their property. González's defense denies this.
The prosecutor's office claims that both businessmen deliberately devalued the company that owned the gas station and farms. They transferred assets to another company in order not to pay creditors, which caused damage to the sellers. As a result, the brothers faced a mortgage foreclosure of almost 300,000 euros.