“I didn’t want to know anything about inheritance,” claims ex-Catalan chief

These are the key 12 answers that form part of Pujol’s statement. The majority of the questions were asked by Judge Balfagon and answered by Pujol, who often refers to himself in the third person.

1. The confession in July. "It was convenient to be upfront with my children and explain the origins of the money that was outside of Spain." Answering a question from the prosecutor, Pujol added that he decided to go public by releasing a statement on July 25 because he wanted to let everyone know "that I was aware about the source of the money since the 1960s, that it was all legal, and I wanted to make that clear in the statement."

2. No interest in the inheritance. Pujol said he "didn't know the name of the bank where the money was deposited" and also never knew "the name of the person who was registered" on the account. "I can't give you any information about the account because from the beginning I didn't want anything to do with it." Prosecutors have discovered that Pujol held at least €4 million at the Banca Privada de Andorra.

3. Florenci's "big secret." The former Catalan premier told the prosecutor that he "didn't feel disinherited" by his father Florenci Pujol's decision to give the money to his wife and children, and that he had "rejected it" from the beginning. Pujol said that it was his father's decision never to tell his sister about the inheritance. Florenci "amassed great wealth but it was gradually reduced because of successive crises. Therefore, my sister could not be given anything that had already been left to my wife and children."

4. Two deceased administrators. The money was allegedly managed by a friend of the father named Delfí Mateu, who died in 1993. Pujol said he never asked Mateu for any bookkeeping records because he "didn't want to know anything" about the inheritance. Joaquim Pujol i Figa, a cousin of the former premier, briefly took over the accounts at Mateu's request when the latter could no longer handle them because of his advanced age, Pujol explained. But the cousin declined to keep handling the accounts after a few months because he wanted to dedicate himself to serving as chief of staff in Pujol's government.

5. Protecting his children from political controversy. "When my father died, some of the children were of legal age but I didn't want them to handle the inheritance because of the political situation in Spain in 1980. So I waited until all the children reached legal age."

6. A family "nest egg." "The executor of the inheritance was the eldest son. He didn't want to profit from the inheritance, but only to assure that there was a nest egg" for Pujol's wife and children. Asked by the prosecutor, Pujol said he was unaware of any transfers made to the accounts from other countries.

7. "Independent" decisions about the money. Pujol said that he wasn't aware how each of his children handled their share of the fortune. "Each one of them could do whatever they wanted with the money. I don't know if that money is still abroad because I don't want to have anything to do with it."

8. The Pujol children decided to legalize the money. Pujol said that he "didn't know how much money there was or how it was split" in 1990. "The [July 2014] decision to settle with the tax agency was made by the children."

9. Fear of a media circus. Pujol said he "waited years to seek ways to legalize the money" because of the "negative publicity this could have, as has in fact been the case." "In 1980, times were different and I was scared."

10. Money from exchange rate transactions. The money "didn't come from laundering, corruption, kickbacks or public funds," he insisted. "It came from the profits my father earned exchanging dollars in the 1950s and 1960s."

11. Foreign accounts. Pujol stated that he doesn't hold and never held "a foreign bank account." "I never had an account in Liechtenstein and I have never received any notification from that country."

12. No documents to support the inheritance. "There is no document to support where the money was being kept in 1990." When Mateu turned over the accounts to Pujol i Figa, "there existed no documents on file." He told his children about their inheritance directly.