The magistrate of the National High Court (AN) Antonio Piña has agreed to open oral proceedings against BBVA, its former president Francisco González and 14 other people, including former senior bank officials and police commanders, for a series of alleged illicit commissions to commissioner José Manuel Villarejo between 2004 and 2016.
In the order to open oral proceedings, which Europa Press has had access to and which refers to piece 9 of the 'Tándem' macro-case, focused on Villarejo's private business, the judge sends the bank to the dock for an alleged crime of bribery and 52 other alleged crimes of discovery and revelation of secrets.
Regarding Francisco González, the investigating judge charges him with alleged crimes of active and passive bribery, 42 possible crimes of discovery and revelation of secrets, as well as criminal organization, disloyal administration and document forgery.
With respect to Villarejo, the magistrate attributes to him another 42 alleged crimes of discovery and revelation of secrets, active and passive bribery, membership in a criminal organization and forgery of a commercial document.
Bail of 1.17 million to cover possible liabilities
Piña sets a joint bail of 1.17 million euros to guarantee the potential civil liabilities of the defendants, with the warning that their assets will be seized if they do not deposit said amount within three days.
From this moment on, the defendants' legal teams have ten days to submit their briefs and propose the evidence they deem relevant for the oral proceedings.
The Public Prosecutor's Office seeks sentences totaling 173 years in prison for Francisco González and another 174 years for Villarejo, in addition to a fine of 181 million euros for BBVA.
The National High Court had already ratified on February 20 the prosecution of the bank, its former president and several former executives of the entity for these alleged criminal acts.
Contracts with CENYT and investigation methods
In relation to Francisco González, the Third Chamber of the AN, in line with the investigating judge's criteria, pointed out that some of the contracts with CENYT—Villarejo's business network—were ordered by the then president of BBVA, "who already knew who this entity was and its investigation methods from previous contracts".
It was in June 2024 when the then investigating judge, Manuel García Castellón, proposed bringing the bank, González, and Villarejo, among others, to trial for crimes of discovery and revelation of secrets.
In a 268-page order, the investigating judge detailed that the origin of the events lies in the hiring by BBVA of the then Police Commissioner Julio Corrochano, whom Piña also sends to trial, in September 2002.
According to that document, Corrochano's incorporation had the express approval of the executive president, Francisco González, and served as a bridge between the financial institution and the commissioner's former colleagues, including other active commissioners like Villarejo and the former head of the Central Operational Support Unit (UCAO) of the National Police, Enrique García Castaño.
An "illegal" and "anomalous" resource and BBVA's position
The judge stated that Villarejo, "making fraudulent use of the possibilities afforded to him by his special position within the Police's operational needs structure," would have taken advantage of that position to articulate a business structure with which to obtain economic benefits, relying on the trust generated among numerous colleagues.
"Julio Corrochano, knowing about this double activity of his friend and colleague, José Villarejo Pérez, through the so-called CENYT Group, informed his president, Francisco González, of the existence of such an anomalous and illegal resource, guaranteeing total discretion and opacity if it were used," the order stated.
The investigating judge added that, "given the absence of any control and supervision program over his executive decisions within the entity, he authorized and permitted, guaranteeing a very small core of senior executives within the entity's central corporate services who were aware of it."
As a consequence, the judge concluded, various contracts were signed to develop intelligence projects that included surveillance, call traffic interception, database consultation, and asset tracing of different individuals, including businessmen, lawyers, and journalists.
After the opening of oral proceedings became known, BBVA sources have reiterated to Europa Press that the entity "has always maintained that no criminal responsibility arises for the bank from the investigated facts."