Deadline for a decision in the “Villarejo case”. key decision on the Ibex 35 companies impacted by the macro cause. Iberdrola, BBVA, Repsol Y CaixaBank There were four of the big companies in the country who had to stand before a judge with their first swords for using the services of the Retired Commissioner José Manuel Villarejo. A controversial cop who, under a beret and hidden behind a briefcase, spied on important figures in business and politics for decades. After more than three years of investigations, these companies will begin focusing on the National Court in 2023, awaiting whether the competent judge will investigate the undercover agent’s private work while he was still active with the National Police end of the investigation focused on her.
The magistrate has until January 29th to determine whether investigations into the public companies’ orders to the Cenyt Group, the business network led by Villarejo, will be closed or kept open. The date is not random. This is the last day of validity of the last six-month extension – as established by law – that Judge Manuel García Castellón has awarded to the majority of the individual parts that make up the Macro cause open since Villarejo’s arrestin November 2017.
In particular, Iberdrola and BBVA are particularly awaiting the future of the investigations in which they have been directly involved and whether any of the accused will be brought to justice. On the other hand, there are Repsol and CaixaBank, whose procedural situations are pending the decision of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court, which must confirm or revoke the file approved for the second time by the case teacher.
Three similar investigations
Three very similar lines of research and with many elements in common. Four companies that at some point required Villarejo’s services to face any kind of offensive. The connections to Cenyt were then Head of Corporate Security the contractors who knew the inspector from his previous positions with the state police.
Also a common strategy with all accused. This was assured by the ex-responsible persons in the area mentioned They had no idea of the controversial commissioner’s true status, that is, he worked for the police and for his private clients at the same time, which is incompatible. And this was emphasized by the top managers of the companies Its functions focused on strategic and representative mattersso the selection and engagement of suppliers was at lower levels, shifting potential responsibilities to lower managers.
This was revealed by former BBVA President Francisco González on two occasions he has testified before the judge since his indictment in 2019 (the last voluntarily). The same approach was uncovered in May 2021 when the President of Repsol, Anton Brufauand those of La Caixa Foundation (and previously CaixaBank), Isidro Fainethey insisted in their statements that they had not commissioned or commissioned Villarejo to oversee the orders to outside companies. And in January 2022, the president of Iberdrola, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, said so too.
case by case
This file was largely used by Judge García Castellón to decide more than a year and a half ago to exonerate Brufau and Fainé and their companies from the “Villarejo case” as they had no responsibility for the case to stop them Alliance of Sacyr Vallehermoso and the Mexican oil company Pemex with the aim of gaining control of Repsol. In this way, the judge understood that the “blame” for this irregular contract lay with the security chiefs, who are already one step away from the process.
However, the criminal division of the regional court took the view that the dismissal had taken place “Precipitate” and ordered the retrial of the case. Last June, after taking the appropriate steps to fulfill the Chamber’s mandate, the coroner repeated the disputes, which the Chamber now has to confirm, which would mean the top executives of Repsol and CaixaBank being permanently dismissed from the case would, since the companies themselves .
As for the proceedings against BBVA and Iberdrola, everything points in that direction They follow the same steps as the other two. Sources close to the investigation indicate that the judge and prosecutors are considering whether they can get those two plays ready yet. The case of electricity is much more advanced. before the summer the judge archived the case against Sánchez Galán and against the subsidiary Iberdrola Renovables Energía, after one year credit, by statute of limitations. Thus, the alleged responsibility for relations with Villarejo remained with the former security chief, who admitted to falsifying bills.
Ultimately, the judge’s decision will be relevant for the BBVA. The bank is charged since 2019 along with a dozen eminent officials and their former president, Francisco González, for some tasks that began with hiring the spy to stop Sacyr’s attempted attack on the bank’s board of directors.
Thus, Repsol, CaixaBank, Iberdrola and BBVA face a final push that will mark the deals planned for the new year.
The three separate pieces
BBVA. The bank’s investigation was launched in late 2018 as one of the first in the Villarejo case. The judge is investigating the various jobs the ex-cop held between 2004 and 2017 for a total of €10.3 million spying on politicians, businessmen and journalists. This is one of the most complex pieces and the one that accumulates the most documents in which he has presided over the crossroads of allegations between investigators from the start.
Iberdrola. Since October 2019, the judge has been examining the contracts that the electronics group also made with Cenyt between 2004 and 2017 in order to avoid obstacles to their business projects or to investigate potential competitors. More than one million euros were paid for these services.
Repsol and Caixa. The judge approved the formation of this investigative line in December 2019 to clarify the payment of more than 400,000 euros to the Villarejo companies to quash an attempt by Sacyr Vallehermoso and Mexico’s Pemex to attack the Spanish oil company. Currently, former security chiefs Rafael Araujo (Repsol) and Miguel Ángel Fernández Rancaño (CaixaBank), along with the controversial police officer, are already one step away from the bank.