This is what Fidel San Román was like: the builder behind Malaya and the Franco family's 'big scores'

On June 3, the bullfighting businessman and builder linked to "Operación Malaya," Fidel San Román Morán, passed away at the age of 85. He did so "in silence," since the news of his death went unnoticed by most media outlets. One of the few public records about the event is the obituary with his name in one of the editions of ABC.

According to this publication, the funeral of the Zamoran magnate will be held on July 24 in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid). In fact, it was in the capital where Fidel San Román and his brother Antonio built a multibillion-dollar empire starting in the 1970s. They developed properties throughout the Madrid region, especially in luxurious residential areas in the mountains.

One of these properties is the well-known Valdefuentes estate, which Fidel San Román built for his friends, the Franco family. It is worth noting that an updated edition of the book La familia Franco S.A. by Mariano Sánchez Soler about this important family of the dictator will be published soon. The new release will go on sale on September 5.

The Franco family, real estate, and the San Román family

The Franco descendants' foray into the real estate world took place at the beginning of the 1970s, before the death of the "Generalísimo." They did so with the help of the San Román construction family and through the company Edificaciones Tifán SL.

The brothers Fidel and Antonio San Román, very close friends of the Franco family, managed more than thirty real estate companies. They also managed the Las Ventas bullring, which was granted to them by the former president of the Community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre. Her husband, Fernando Ramírez de Haro, Count of Murillo, was linked to them in the development they were going to build on the land his family owns in the town of Yebes, in the province of Guadalajara.

The San Román brothers also became, thanks to the support of their aristocratic and liberal friends, breeders of fighting bulls. Several ranches bore their own name. They also owned the El Ventorrillo ranch, which they acquired in the first half of 2005 to give themselves some bullfighting prestige. El Ventorrillo stopped fighting in 2021 after the Covid pandemic, although Fidel San Román kept the rights.

Their partner in several of their businesses was the lawyer Ramón Calderón, who was a Real Madrid executive and legal counsel to the singer Isabel Pantoja.

Upon the death of their father Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Ortega, the seven children of Carmen Franco Polo also inherited many of the real estate properties of the Marquis of Villaverde in 1998.

This way, together with their siblings and mother, they acquired ownership of an estate of more than 69 acres (28 hectares) in La Hacienda Arroyo-Vil, in Baeza (Jaén). They also came to control several plots in the La Florida residential area in Madrid, in the municipality of El Pardo.

In fact, some of them were later sold to the San Román construction family and the company Inversiones Refinsa S.L. Thanks to these "small" real estate transactions, the Franco family obtained, according to the property registry, profits of about five million euros. Other lucrative real estate deals by Carmen and her siblings included the sale of a plot in the "El Bosque" neighborhood in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), as well as the sale of a rural estate of 15 acres (6 hectares) of dryland olive groves in Mancha Real (Jaén) and some apartments in Playa de Campoamor, in Alicante.

Their main businesses are in real estate, including the purchase and sale of properties with tenants. Thus, Francis Franco, the dictator's eldest grandson, appears as general manager of Promociones del Suroeste SA. This real estate developer built on part of the family estate that Carmen Franco inherited from "Valdefuentes," in the municipality of Arroyomolinos (Madrid).

The 'Valdefuentes' estate

The 'Valdefuentes' estate was acquired by General Franco in 1954 and became one of his favorite properties. Although it belongs to the Arroyomolinos city council, it is registered in the property registry of the Madrid town of Navalcarnero.

The costly upkeep of this estate caused problems for the Marquis of Villaverde, Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú. This forced him to sell several plots and rent out many others within this vast property, which has an area of 2,100 acres (850 hectares), initially declared as rural land, and a buildable value that can reach sixty million euros.

Upon the death of "Generalísimo" Franco, the estate was inherited by his daughter, the Duchess of Franco, although due to the progressive deterioration of its agricultural and livestock operations, she soon left the management to her children for its subsequent urban rezoning. Eventually, 8.2 million sq. ft. (3.3 million square meters) were rezoned to allow the construction of more than five thousand homes, a shopping center, and a sports center.

In this Valdefuentes real estate business, the Franco family partnered with their longtime friends, builders Fidel and Antonio San Román Morán. The headquarters of this company, Promociones del Suroeste SA, was initially moved from the Valdefuentes estate to Avenida de la Coruña, number 68, in Las Rozas (Madrid). Initially listed as shareholders were Carmen Franco Polo and the companies of the San Román brothers: Edificaciones Tifán S.L. and Sanedi S.A.

The protagonists of this story also include Miguel Herrero y Rodríguez de Miñón, one of the fathers of the Constitution and former member of the Partido Popular. Gabriel Camuñas, who was vice president of Alianza Popular (AP), is also included. The information was revealed by journalist Antonio Rubio in El Mundo in 2003, and it details how both former high-ranking officials influenced the Community of Madrid to obtain the rezoning of the Valdefuentes estate, as well as a nearby area they themselves had bought from the dictator's daughter in February 1998.

Due to failed attempts, the Franco family found one of the key pieces that would allow them to pull off the real estate windfall: Juan Rivera. He is the brother of Jaime Rivera, who for many years was Carmen Martínez Bordiú's boyfriend. Through him, they would approach Gabriel Camuñas, also founder of the Plataforma de los Independientes de España (PIE), and Miguel Herrero de Miñón. The two former politicians would obtain the final rezoning by using their contacts.

As journalist Antonio Rubio reported, the document that proves the influence of these politicians in the business came from the law office of Jesús A. Madalena and was addressed to Gabriel Camuñas. It explained the steps to be taken by each member of the group, emphasizing the role of Herrero de Miñón before the councilors of the Community of Madrid to achieve the urban planning goal.

The report shows the instructions to carry out the plan, ensuring that consensus is needed among the three major owners, the Community, and the City Council.

The note suggested that a friend of Miguel Herrero de Miñón had enough influence within the Community of Madrid to obtain the rezoning of the Valdefuentes estate. Through that influence, they managed to carry out the business.

Of the 24.2 million sq. ft. (9.8 million square meters) that the estate acquired by the Franco family from Luis Figueroa, grandson of the Count of Romanones, had, 8.2 million sq. ft. (3.3 million square meters) were rezoned from rural to buildable land. This favored the exploitation of the land for commercial purposes.

These real estate activities were not the only ones that kept Fidel San Román in the spotlight.

Fidel San Román and the Malaya case

The ruling of the Provincial Court of Málaga on the "Malaya case" revealed the fragility of the justice system in Spain. The trial ended on July 30, 2012, and imposed "micro-sentences" in a major case with 95 defendants. Most were acquitted or received minor sentences. Tomás Olivo, Sandokan, Fidel San Román, González de Caldas, Ávila Rojas were among those convicted.

They are the developers who built the most homes in Marbella during the decade of GIL governments. Those who collaborated most with corruption, according to the courts. Gilismo was synonymous with construction and wealth and with a few privileged people lining their pockets.

Developer and businessman Fidel San Román has already served the sentences imposed on him by the Provincial Court of Málaga for the Malaya case. He was convicted of a continuous bribery offense to eight months in prison and a fine of 750,000 euros.

In San Román's case, according to the ruling, the eight-month prison sentence was replaced by a fine of 4,800 euros. All at a rate of ten euros per day, which he paid in full before his death.

He also paid the 750,000-euro fine in full by bank transfer. In addition to 14,000 euros, which is the estimated proportional share of the legal costs he was responsible for. San Román admitted that he paid three million euros in bribes to Juan Antonio Roca, "serving his procedural attitude," according to the court. "Either I hang myself or I have to agree to pay money," were the words of confession from the businessman.

Fidel San Román was arrested at the end of June 2006 in Madrid during the second raid of Operación Malaya. His arrest took place along with 26 other alleged participants in the corruption scheme in Marbella City Hall.

San Román was a major builder and developer in the capital of Spain, with interests in Las Rozas and other well-known towns in Madrid. Among the companies he managed were Edificaciones Tifán S.L., Sanedi, Urbanización y Obras Civiles, Promociones Afinsa, Promociones Mosan, Rozas Industrial, Zoco Centrp, Promotora Monte Lomas, Residencial Los Torreones, VillaRozas, El Cantizal, and Navalaencinilla.

He also established a foundation dedicated to social assistance at the end of 2002, which he chaired himself.

The life of the San Román family

At a very young age, the San Román brothers left Lagarejos (Zamora). Like so many other emigrants from the Sanabria region, they set out for Madrid.

In their hometown, the family home was preserved until a few years ago, after which it collapsed. Fidel and his brothers were rarely seen again in the town, although they did keep ties with Sanabria. In Asturias, the house he shared with his first wife, located across from the town's gas station, remained closed. They were also often seen at the festival of the patron saint of the region, the Virgen de los Remedios, which is held every first Sunday in October in Otero de Sanabria.

Life went well for the San Román Morán brothers in Madrid. They built more than 40 developments. The Sanabrian businessman has been linked to more than thirty companies also spread across Marbella and Puerto Banús, Murcia, and Alicante.

The Malaya investigation mentioned Promotora Monte Lomas, Promociones Anfisa, Manrosan, Zoco Centro, Residencial Los Torreones, Madoal, FR Promociones del Suroeste, Proyectos y Análisis de Mercados, and Construcciones Elemar.

Now, the recent death of the Sanabrian businessman Fidel San Román recalls one of the biggest corruption episodes in the history of our country.