Spain's National Court has scheduled a trial for September 2027 against former Madrid regional vice president Ignacio González and four others for alleged contract rigging related to a golf course at the Canal de Isabel II. This case is part of the broader Lezo investigation, focusing on benefits gained by the politician's relatives between 2006 and 2012. Prosecutors seek six years in prison for González, while Madrid's regional government requests 16 years.
The Second Section of the Criminal Chamber of Spain's National Court has set the oral trial to begin on September 13, 2027, potentially lasting until September 30 of that year. This proceeding stems from an August 2021 order by Judge Manuel García Castellón, which opened the trial against Ignacio González, who chaired the Canal de Isabel II board from 2003 to 2012 as Madrid's regional vice president under Esperanza Aguirre's government.
The defendants include Ildefonso de Miguel, the Canal's manager from 2003 to 2009, and partners in Tecnoconcret Proyectos de Ingeniería, SL: José Antonio Clemente, Pablo Manuel González (Ignacio's brother), and Juan José Caballero (brother-in-law). According to Anti-Corruption Prosecutors, the two leaders exploited their positions to irregularly alter tenders and subcontract to the family-linked firm, yielding over 500,000 euros in benefits between 2006 and 2012.
The first contract, awarded in 2003 to Dragados for consolidation and landscaping, was modified in 2004 without a new tender. Dragados subcontracted work worth over three million euros to Tecnoconcret, which then passed it to Onlygolf and Fieldturf España, charging an 8% commission and netting 381,029 euros. The second, in 2006, awarded golf course operations to a joint venture including Tecnoconcret, which subcontracted maintenance for 9,875 euros monthly, profiting from a 20% margin and earning 123,752 euros.
Announced in 2003 by Mayor José María Álvarez del Manzano and regional president Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón as a park, the project shifted to a golf course in 2006, sparking neighborhood backlash. Built amid controversy, it was ruled illegal in 2016 and demolished in 2018, replaced by Santander Park.
González, held in pretrial detention for nearly seven months, faces two other Lezo case branches: irregularities in the Navalcarnero train award (four years sought) and the Emissao purchase in Brazil (eight years). He currently works as a civil servant earning 54,000 euros annually.
